Matthias Kleiner

Prof. Matthias Kleiner completed his habilitation in the field of forming technology in 1991. Three years later, he joined the faculty of the newly founded Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus as Professor of Forming Technology as the Chair in Design and Manufacturing. In 1997, Professor Kleiner was awarded the DFG’s Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, the most prestigious prize in German research. In 1998, Professor Kleiner moved to the Technical University Dortmund, where he holds the Chair of Forming Technology. From 2004 to 2006, he served as Managing Director of the newly established Institute of Forming Technology and Lightweight Construction (IUL). He has played an instrumental role in a number of international and, above all, interdisciplinary research projects and research networks. He is a member of numerous international professional committees and academies. In 2011, he co-chaired the German “Ethics Commission for a Safe Energy Supply”. Professor Kleiner was elected President of the German Research Foundation (DFG) in 2007. His six year term of office as President of the DFG ends on December 31st, 2012. From January 2013, he will be head of the Institute of Forming Technology and Lightweight Construction (IUL) at the University of Dortmund.