May 04, 2023
Women pioneers in science: First " Place of Women's History" at TU Dresden inaugurated in honor of the sisters Johanna and Gertrud Wiegandt
TU Dresden and the State Women's Council of Saxony (Landesfrauenrat Sachsen e.V.) honored two pioneers of women's education and academic careers. At the Trefftz Building on the Südvorstadt Campus, the first "Place of Women's History" at TUD was inaugurated on May 2, 2023. It is dedicated to the Wiegandt sisters.
The mathematician Dr. Johanna Wiegandt (1893-1967) was the first woman to earn a doctorate in mathematics at a German technical university, and was awarded the academic title of “Dr. rer. techn”. Dr. Gertrud Wiegandt (1898-1984) became the first female assistant professor at the Faculty of Mathematics of Dresden Technical College. Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger, Rector of TU Dresden, and Susanne Köhler, Chairwoman of the State Women's Council of Saxony, officially opened the event. Following the inauguration, the vernissage of the traveling exhibition " Places of Women's History in Saxony" opened at 5:30 pm in the Barkhausen Building (foyer Schönfeld lecture hall). This highlights the turbulent and diverse history of women in Saxony.
In many cases, little is known about the lives and work of women in science and academia, and frequently their achievements are forgotten as a result. TU Dresden's Diversity Management would like to use this and other formats in the future to increasingly promote the visibility of (historical) women researchers at TU Dresden, make them visible for the present, and introduce them as possible role models for future generations of female researchers.
Gertrud and Johanna Wiegandt - A Place of Women's History for TU Dresden
Information on the "Places of Women's History in Saxony" project