Director, Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF), University of StuttgartHead of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA)
Prof. Thomas Bauernhansl has been the director of the tradition-steeped Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF) at the University of Stuttgart and the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) since 2011.
Born in Miltenberg/Franconia, in 1969, he studied mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen and worked as a research assistant there from 1999 to 2002. During this period he was involved in industry and research projects as well as leading the “Process and Technology Planning” group, the “Integrated Product Design” department and from 2002 the “Corporate Development” department.
In 2002 Bauernhansl gained his doctorate with a dissertation on “The evaluation of synergies in mechanical engineering”. From 2003 to 2011 he held various positions at Freudenberg KG, including manager of the plant and tooling technology division and head of the technology center for sealing and vibration technology, and he was also head of global process technology, with responsibility for production as a whole.
