Axel Gottschalk receives Research Award 2024 from Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences

Award for special achievements in the acquisition of research projects

For the fourth time, Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences and the Verein zur Förderung der Hochschule Bremerhaven e.V. have presented the Research Award for special research achievements: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel Gottschalk receives the prize, endowed with 1,000 euros, for outstanding achievements in the acquisition of third-party funding and his research in the field of sustainable process engineering. "With this award, we want to honour innovative ideas and remarkable efforts that often remain in the shadow of actual research but make a decisive contribution to scientific progress," emphasised Prof. Dr.-med. Ulrich Sander, Chairman of the association, emphasised at the award ceremony. "We are delighted to be able to honour a colleague this year who has been researching and teaching with great commitment and innovation for many years and who has significantly shaped the reputation of Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences in the national and international scientific community."

Numerous research projects acquired in various fields of research

Axel Gottschalk has been Professor of Thermal Process Engineering and Energy Conversion at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences since 2013, where he heads the Laboratory for Thermal Process Engineering. "In the course of his work, he has acquired and coordinated a large number of research projects in various research fields and has accompanied numerous employees on their scientific path," Ulrich Sander honoured the award winner in his laudatory speech. "His tireless commitment to the development of innovative ideas and their realisation is extraordinary. Thanks to Professor Gottschalk's outstanding ability to acquire third-party funding, numerous pioneering projects have been launched that have taken our research to a new level." As an example, Sander mentioned the successfully completed EU project "FLEXI-GREEN FUELS" coordinated by Gottschalk: together with 13 partners from research and industry, Axel Gottschalk and his team researched the production of environmentally friendly renewable aviation and marine fuels. "Sustainability is a recurring theme in Professor Gottschalk's research," continued the Chairman of the Association for the Promotion of Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. "He is currently researching the topic of sustainable laboratory operations in the BreGoS project, for example."
The abbreviation stands for "Bremen Goes Sustainable", which translates as "Bremen becomes sustainable". This is the name of a cross-university project in the state of Bremen that is being funded by the federal government with one million euros. The aim of the work package at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences is to make work in laboratories more sustainable. The aim is to make operations more energy-efficient and to use or recycle materials more efficiently and minimise waste.

Chernobyl meltdown sparks interest in alternative energy generation

"I am delighted to receive this honour," said Axel Gottschalk in his acceptance speech. The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 had been the driving force behind his interest in alternative energy generation. Practical applicability has always been the core of his research work: "I prefer to work for reality rather than for the bookshelf."
Application-orientated research is very important at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. It not only enables the development of new methods and the acquisition of new knowledge, but also research-based teaching and learning. In order to recognise special achievements in the field of research, the Research Award of Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences is presented annually. The prize, which is endowed with 1,000 euros, is sponsored by the Verein zur Förderung der Hochschule Bremerhaven e.V. (Friends Association of Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences).

Honoured: Three graduates of Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences honoured for outstanding theses

The Verein zur Förderung der Hochschule Bremerhaven e.V. has also honoured three outstanding student theses and awarded them 1,000 euros each:
Anneke Neber received the 2023 sponsorship award for her bachelor's thesis in the Maritime Technologies degree programme. In her thesis entitled "Development of a luminophore dispensing mechanism to be used in the deep sea with the fluorescent sediment profile imaging camera", she describes the method she developed to illuminate the seabed using phosphorescent particles and thus enable special images of the living creatures there. "Anneke Neber's work is of great scientific and practical importance," said Prof. Dr Ulrich Sander in recognition of the graduate from Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences.
Sebastian Fock received a further sponsorship award for his final thesis in the Bachelor's degree programme Foundation Innovation Leadership. He dealt scientifically with the topic of "Alternative remuneration systems - an investigation into the effects of New Pay". Using qualitative interviews with HR managers from eight companies, Sebastian Fock researched the effects of transparent remuneration systems on the further development of organisations. "With this Bachelor's thesis, Mr Fock shows that he is able to successfully tackle a challenging topic from the core area of the Foundation Innovation Leadership degree programme using scientific methods in an outstanding manner," said Ulrich Sander, praising the results of the Bremerhaven graduate.
Christian Saathoff's master's thesis in wind energy technology entitled "Successfully Linearised Model Predictive Control Design for the Full Operation Range of a Wind Turbine" dealt with the development of an innovative control concept for wind turbines. In it, he used simulations to demonstrate the advantages in terms of reduced turbine load and higher yield. He was supported by the Danish company DEIF, a control and regulation developer for wind turbines, among other things. "The work is of great scientific and practical importance and is characterised by a stringent objective," said Ulrich Sander in recognition of the award winner.