On 30 December 2025, our highly esteemed colleague Professor (emeritus) Hans Eckhard Scholz passed away unexpectedly.
born 26/02/1959 Leipzig | died 30/12/2025 Quedlinburg
Prof Scholz had been Professor of Software Technology and CAD in Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical and Energy Engineering (now the Faculty of Engineering) since 2001. He only took his well-deserved retirement in October 2025 - so we are all the more saddened by the news of his sudden death.
During his time at our university, which spanned more than two decades, Prof Scholz dedicated himself to teaching with great commitment. His focus was on in-depth CAD training with Catia as well as teaching software development for engineers, machine dynamics and design theory. As early as the beginning of the 2000s, he made a significant contribution to advancing digitalisation in mechanical engineering at our faculty. Together with his colleagues, he shaped the specialisation "Mechanical Engineering Informatics" for the Master's degree programme in the field of CAD training. This programme established a course whose particular affinity for computer science became a trademark of our graduates. Together with the faculty, he thus created an essential foundation on which the faculty can continue to develop its strong mechanical engineering degree programmes today.
Despite his sound theoretical training in technical mechanics, Prof. Scholz placed project-based learning at the centre of his didactics. He knew how to inspire students with his practical approach: whether designing excavators or children's bicycles, including motion simulation and photorealistic visualisation, he made the application immediately tangible. In higher semesters, his interdisciplinary compressor project had a lasting impact on the education of mechanical engineering students. He always had an open ear for the concerns of students, young academics and the faculty.
In research, he was particularly interested in interdisciplinary collaboration with medical scientists at Leipzig University. He focussed on medical technology issues and transferred computer tomography data of skull injuries into CAD systems. On this basis, he designed custom-fit implants, which were printed as 3D models before final realisation.
In addition to his professorship, Prof Scholz has been involved in academic self-administration for many years, including on the Budget and IT Commission and at times as Vice Dean. Thanks to his efforts to improve the technical infrastructure, teaching staff and students now have access to a modern computer pool of 70 centralised workstations, which enable practical training in simulation and software development.
"Successful teaching is characterised by the fact that what is learned is put into practice. Professor Scholz has managed to integrate the digital transformation into his teaching in such a way that CAD applications have become an intuitive matter of course for generations of engineers. His work remains the foundation of our future." Prof Stephan Schönfelder, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering
Our deepest sympathy goes to his family and all those who were close to him. We will honour his memory.
