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The History of the Department
1992
Establishment of the Chair of Information Tech-
nology in Mechanical Engineering. This takes into
account the increasing significance of information
technology in mechanical engineering. ‘[Our aim
is] not only to utilise the potential for innovation
connected with the arrival of information technology
in mechanical engineering but to make the problems
which accompany the new technologies controlla-
ble. Only if we succeed in this will our mechanical
engineering be able to maintain its leading position’,
founding professor Klaus Bender emphasises.
1993
The collaborative research centre no. 365 ‘Environ-
mentally Compatible Drive Technology for Vehicles’
is set up headed by Bernd-Robert Höhn. The objec-
tive of this special field of research is the simulation,
layout and design of the Full Hybrid.
1997
Inauguration of the new department building on
the Garching research campus with approximately
60,000 sq. metres floor space.
Garching
The construction of the department’s new campus in Garching
is unique at the time – it is not public building authorities which
carry out the project planning but BMW which is intended
to speed up building. After a construction phase of only six
years – and without exceeding the budget – the new campus
is completed in 1997.
The building is aligned along a central covered axis which
provides access to all chairs, the lecture halls, library,
administration offices and the cafeteria. Its architecture follows
an exact requirement analysis and is optimised for use as a
place of research and study while exceeding the boundaries
of the laws governing the construction of university buildings
in force at the time. Even the students are involved in the
building by designing the seating of the lecture halls. However,
not all plans are implemented. For a while, there were
discussions about setting up a ‘Pilsstube’ (a kind of pub),
directly on the main axis.
The new Audimax under construction, 1992
Demonstration by mechanical engineering students against the
department’s move to Garching in June 1990
Below: Aerial photo of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2008