Portrait of Professor Hurtado
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Antonio Hurtado has held the Chair of Hydrogen and Nuclear Energy since 2007. Since April 1, 2017, he has been the full-time Pro-Rector for University Development at TU Dresden. He represents TU Dresden as scientific coordinator in the DESERTEC University Network and is one of the two speakers of the Boysen TUD Research Training Group. He was born in Puertollano/Spain in 1959.
Without nuclear energy technology ... there would be an energy supply problem instead of a world population problem. The rapidly growing population is forcing us to use all available energy sources - including nuclear energy, which was already seen as the solution to all supply problems in the 1970s.
For me, being a professor... means preparing young people as well as possible for their entry into professional life.
Students ... should be attentive, argumentative, curious, willing to travel, empathetic and have good manners. In addition to punctuality, this includes, for example, only opening their laptops when required by the course, not using cell phones at all and making an effort to use a chosen language.
In the future ... the topics of recycling, hydrogen, inherently safe nuclear fission reactors and transnational energy options will set the tone in energy research and economics.
If I could study again, I would choose mechanical engineering in a heartbeat, as classical engineering is sufficiently interdisciplinary for me to develop as a generalist. If I had the opportunity, I would combine mechanical engineering with business psychology.
Excellence ... is the feeling of having defeated Don Quixote's windmills; the ability to be enthusiastic and the awareness that, in addition to performance-oriented key figures, a team spirit is also needed to successfully develop the scientific enterprise 'University of Excellence'.