Portrait of Professor Schmale
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans Christian Schmale has held the Chair of Joining Technology and Assembly at the Institute of Manufacturing since March 1, 2023 . Prior to this, he worked for 15 years in a managerial role, first at the Mercedes Benz Group and later at Salzgitter AG. Since 2012, he has been an elected expert reviewer for joining technology in joint industrial research (AiF) as well as a member of the research advisory board of the European Research Association for Sheet Metal Working (EFB) and a member of the ProcessNet specialist group for adhesive bonding technology at DECHEMA. He was born in Herford (Westphalia) in 1979.
Without joining technology and assembly... our modern life today would be unimaginable, because it is joining technologies such as welding, riveting and bonding that connect individual parts made of a wide variety of materials into a functional overall product, such as a smartphone, a dental implant, a wind turbine or even a vehicle.
Being a professor... means constantly educating yourself and passing on your experience and passion for technology to young, motivated people and supporting them in their personal development in the best possible way.
Students... are the next generation of scientists and engineers - they should retain their innate natural curiosity, practice tolerance towards other people and their points of view, have the courage to ask unconventional questions and remain persistent without being put off.
In the future... joining technology and assembly will fulfil far more tasks than just joining 2 or more materials, but will also be able to answer cross-sectional questions, e.g. on digitalization, recycling and the circular economy - in short: we will certainly not run out of new, exciting and socially relevant questions.
If I could study again, I would ... certainly start a technical degree again and try to combine it with my hobby, flying.
Excellence... for me means achieving the best possible level in teaching and research - through maximum challenge from international cooperation but also competition at one of the most traditional universities in Germany.