Colloquium on the occasion of the 90th birthday of Professor Günter Weise

In honour of the 90th birthday of Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. em. Günter Weise, a festive colloquium was organized by the Chair of Road Planning and Road Design at TU Dresden, which took place in a small setting in the Gerhart Potthoff Building at the express wish of the jubilarian.

The Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences delivered a greeting. Advisors paid tribute to the life and work of Prof. Dr. Ing. habil. em. Günter Weise in interesting presentations.

Günter Weise was born on November 2, 1935 in Dachow, a small town in present-day Poland about 30 km east of Guben. After leaving school, he began his studies at the then Cottbus University of Applied Sciences for Civil Engineering, now the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, in the Department of Urban Planning and Urban Engineering. After graduating as a graduate engineer, he worked as an assistant at the universities of Cottbus and Weimar until 1965. He then continued his career at the road design and engineering office (EIBS) in Berlin in the road traffic planning and technology department. During this time, he worked on his doctorate, which he completed at the University of Architecture and Civil Engineering in Weimar in 1970.

In 1973, he was appointed lecturer at the "Friedrich List" University of Transport in Dresden.

In 1978, Günter Weise published a textbook on the design and layout of roads, in which the fundamentals of the planning process were and are still taught to generations of students.

In 1988, Günter Weise was appointed Chair of Pavement Engineering at the Friedrich List University of Transport, succeeding Hans-Georg Wiehler.

After reunification in 1989, extensive restructuring of the university landscape was necessary.

In 1992, parts of the Hochschule für Verkehrswesen "Friedrich List" were transferred to the TUD Dresden University of Technology as the "Friedrich List" Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences. During this process, it was necessary to establish a new chair for "Planning and Design of Road Traffic Facilities" and to adapt and redesign the teaching materials.

It was also necessary to harmonize standards and guidelines for road design and construction and to standardize them for the whole of Germany.

Günter Weise did a commendable job of bringing together the technical committee of the Chamber of Engineering and the road design working group of the Road and Transportation Research Association (FGSV).

Through his work in various committees of the FGSV and his recognized research work, the foundations for the design of freeways and rural roads were created, which are reflected today in current guidelines.

In 1997, Günter Weise published a revised edition of the textbook "Straßenbau Planung und Entwurf" together with Professor Walter Durth.

Günter Weise retired in 2001 and handed over the chair to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h. c. Christian Lippold.

With his tireless teaching and research activities, Günter Weise led numerous diploma and doctoral students to a successful degree. Thanks to the excellent training he provided, they have gone on to prove themselves in practice and research, both near and far, and some of them are now professors themselves.

After his retirement, Günter Weise continued to support the work of the Chair and the Faculty for a long time. He deserves special thanks and recognition for this.

At the end of the colloquium, the jubilarian reviewed his time at TU Dresden in a word of thanks and emphasized the trusting cooperation with the associate members of the Chair and the Faculty.

The standing reception following the colloquium offered participants a good opportunity to talk shop and share memories with Professor Weise.