»Wissenschaftstag« Answers Question of »Who Are the New Appointees?«

During opening of the 13^th »Wissenschaftstag«, the President (interim) of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar Prof. Dr. Jutta Emes emphasised that the event was part of the process of welcoming new appointments: »While we focused on familiarising our new appointments with the different disciplines offered at the university in September, today our colleagues will introduce themselves and their research to the university community. In keeping with the tradition of ›Wissenschaftstag‹, it’s about getting to know each other and exchanging ideas.« This could well also lead to interdisciplinary projects. Such joint research endeavours are essential to meet the major challenges of our time.

»The last ›Wissenschaftstag‹ focused on early career researchers and their funded projects. So it’s wonderful that we’ve now climbing higher up the career ladder this year and can meet four new appointments and learn about their research today,« remarked Dr. Kristina Schönherr, who heads the Research Operations Office. She thanked Konstanze Bleul from her department for her assistance in preparing the event.

Junior Professor Christopher Buschow and Professor Dr. Tom Lahmer acted as the moderators for the day and opened the stage to the new appointments. 

Prof. Dr. Dorothee Rummel, Junior Professor of »Stadt Raum Entwerfen«, went first and explained what her concept of »playing with jokers« is all about. The jokers are experts from other disciplines, who enrich her planning. This currently includes a cooperation with the Urban Greening Lab based in New York with which she exchanges letters and parcels containing things such as found items. Her seminar in Weimar is currently sharing ideas with the experts in the USA and developing other perspectives on her own questions in this way. Prof. Dr. Dorothee Rummel explained that when she looks at an urban space, rural space or even the space in between these, ideas often come entirely unexpectedly or something comes into focus that is normally overlooked otherwise, such as areas under bridges or along railway tracks – areas she refers to as »residual spaces«. Such places are valuable and should not be underestimated.

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Melzner, Chair of Construction Engineering and Management, devotes himself to an entirely different area, namely the future construction site 4.0. For him, this involves taking all aspects – so humans, machines and methods – into account. According to him, the people are crucial and all building planning depends on those who are to implement it. However, this is precisely what is becoming difficult, as there is a shortage of skilled workers; both construction workers and civil engineers are in desperately short supply. Hence he wishes to inspire people to study civil engineering, construction management or architecture. He is also researching how digitalisation can be used to improve working conditions. Real-time information allows humans and machines to better be deployed and to build with fewer resources, less noise and less energy.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Pearce, Junior Professor of Emerging Technologies and Design, addressed other forms of production and design in an unconventional way. He showed two examples of how he was addressing his discipline’s promise of continuous innovation – by taking interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches. He has developed a mobile studio together with artists and industry, for example, that was inspired visually by lizards and produced using robotic processes. The second project with dance scientists combines historical ideas of the Bauhaus master Oskar Schlemmer with contemporary virtual personas – avatars – in a stage performance. Professor Pearce emphasised that he wanted to develop the »Bauhaus Lab for Unruly Technologies in Design« in Weimar, which would create something new from artificial intelligence, computer tomography and traditional building materials such as wood or metal. Pushing theories and materials to their limits is what drives him.

Prof. Dr. Sabine Wirth, Junior Professor of »Digitale Kulturen/Digital Cultures«, uses interfaces of an entirely different kind. She took a look back to 1997, when the »friendly paper clip« was still giving »pushy pointers« to typists. Today, interfaces are usually no longer noticed and are instead inconspicuous in apps and on platforms. This makes it all the more important to ask questions: How is it decided what you can see on social media? How is artificial intelligence altering image processing? What are the environmental costs? Her research will look at how media have changed our daily activities.