Obituary: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heinz Linke

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On June 10, 2026, just a few months after turning 91, Professor Heinz Linke passed away.

Born on February 24, 1935, in Chemnitz, Saxony, he trained as a toolmaker from 1949 to 1952 at the IFA Training Center in Zschopau. After gaining practical experience at the Zschopau Motorcycle Factory, Heinz Linke studied the machine tool engineering Department at the Schmalkalden School of Engineering for Heavy Machinery Construction from 1952 to 1955. From 1955 until the end of 1970, he worked at VEB Entwicklungsbau Pirna, where he was initially confronted with the challenges of gas turbine engine construction in the GDR’s aviation industry at the time. Soon, his work focused on transmission design for the aviation industry and, later, for shipbuilding and rail vehicle manufacturing as well. He held the positions of group leader and deputy head of the Strength of Materials/Calculation Department. From 1957 to 1965, while working full-time, he completed a distance learning program at the TU Dresden, graduating with a degree in engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) in the department of fluid mechanics under Prof. Albring. Beginning in 1967, he worked on his dissertation, “Investigations into the Determination of Dynamic Tooth Forces in Single-Stage Spur Gears with Straight Teeth,” while continuing his industrial work, and was awarded the degree of Dr.-Ing. by Prof. Fronius at the TU Dresden in 1970.

In January 1971, he began working at TU Dresden in the Department of Design Engineering/Machine Elements under Prof. Fronius. Initially serving as a Senior Academic Associate, he was appointed lecturer in 1973. His teaching responsibilities included courses on machine theory, and later on machine elements and drive technology. In 1978, he completed his habilitation with the thesis “Contribution to the Determination of Tooth Flank and Tooth Root Load-Carrying Capacity, Taking into Account Deviations in Geometric Dimensions, Deformation of Gear Components, and Material Properties.” The following year, he was appointed professor of design engineering/design theory with a focus on machine elements. A wide range of research activities developed through contract and basic research for the Gear and Clutch Combine in Magdeburg.

As part of the restructuring of TU Dresden, he was reappointed in 1993 to the field of machine elements and elected Executive Director of the newly founded Institute of Machine Elements and Machine Design. His research continued to focus on gear transmissions, the load-carrying capacity calculation of shafts and axles, and the resumption of tribotechnical investigations commissioned by the FVA (Research Association for Drive Technology within the VDMA), the German Research Foundation (DFG), and industry.

As part of his academic teaching career, Professor Linke personally supervised over 30 doctoral dissertations. As a co-supervisor and second reviewer, he supported an additional 50 doctoral projects by young researchers. He has authored over 50 technical articles for journals, colloquia, and conferences. He was the editor and lead author of the reference book *Stirnradverzahnung* (Spur Gear Tooth Profiles), Hanser 1996, and was the lead editor of DIN 743 “Load-Carrying Capacity Verification of Shafts and Axles” and the VDI guideline VDI 2737 “Calculation of the Tooth-Foot Load-Carrying Capacity of Internal Gears with Ring Gear Influence”. He was elected to the VDI’s Technical Advisory Board on Gear Technology and was an “Academic Member” of the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA).

Professor Linke was an advisor at numerous international conferences in the former Soviet Union, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the United States, France, Japan, and China. Under his scientific direction, several conferences were held at TU Dresden, including two international conferences on gear and transmission technology in 1989 and 1995 in collaboration with the VDI.

Upon turning 65, Heinz Linke was officially honored at a major symposium titled “Drive Technology / Gear Transmissions” held at TU Dresden in 2000 to mark his retirement. But in his profession—which he always regarded as a calling—he remained successful and tireless. He continued to support several staff members of the chair with advice and practical assistance as they worked on their dissertations. For many industry partners, he remained a valued expert in the vast and, in many areas, still largely unexplored field of gear transmissions, thanks to his extensive work as a consultant and his active involvement in research and development projects.

At the celebrations marking his 80th birthday at Hoppes Hoftheater, he had resolved simply to keep working a little longer. This resulted, among other things, in the third updated edition of his life’s work, *Stirnradverzahnung* (Cylindrical Gears), in 2022, as well as the English edition, *Cylindrical Gears*, in 2016. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he unfortunately suffered some health complications from which he never fully recovered.

With his passing, we have lost a highly esteemed engineer and university professor whose dedication to mechanical components shaped his students and doctoral candidates long after his active career had ended.

We will always honor his memory.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Berthold Schlecht