© UA Dresden, Fotoarchiv

Born: 1931, in: Hoyerswerda
Faculty: Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science, Institute of History
Academic title: Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil.

Prof. Dr. Gisela Buchheim was born in Hoyerswerda in February 1931 and began her studies in vocational education in the Departments of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at TU Dresden in 1951.

After graduating in 1955, she worked as an assistant at the Institute of History of Technology and Natural Sciences and then went to Moscow for her postgraduate studies at the USSR Academy of Sciences. She completed her doctorate in Moscow in 1965 and then returned to Dresden. At TU Dresden, she was first employed as a Research Associate at the Institute of Philosophy, then received her teaching qualification and subsequently became a university lecturer in the History of Science.

Between 1985 and 1990, Gisela Buchheim taught the history of science at the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies as an associate professor. After the section was closed following the reorganization of TU Dresden after reunification, the Institute for the History of Science, Technology and Economics was founded. She is considered the spiritus rector and driving force behind the founding of the Institute and shaped research with her work in the field of the history of physics.

"It was not least thanks to her work that a discipline in the history of science and technology was established at TU Dresden, which soon gained international recognition." (Sonnemann, R. In memory of Gisela Buchheim. NTM N.S. 1, 255-259 (1993))

She worked there as the first female professor until her death in 1991. She is considered a pioneer in the history of science and technology and a key figure in the history of technology research.