On 22nd February 2019, the Dr. Hans and Benno Bolza Foundation honoured this year’s recipients of its advancement award for outstanding contributions to the engineering sciences. The award, which is endowed with a total of €8,500, was shared by three graduates from the University of Wuppertal and the Technical University of Munich. The foundation is named after the two great-grandsons of industry pioneer Friedrich Koenig, who designed and built the first mechanical printing press in 1814.
Foundation board chairman Claus Bolza-Schünemann presented the award for the best contribution to Dr. Daniel Bohn from the University of Wuppertal. His thesis describes the development of an illumination-independent method of white point adjustment for proof processes. The board of trustees praised especially the methodical approach of the research, the quality of the results and the particular relevance for the print industry. “Dr. Daniel Bohn’s work stands out well above other theses in terms of both ambition and quality,” explained laudator Prof. Dr. Volker Lohweg.
The award for the second-placed paper was shared by Master graduates Alesia Ivankovskaia and Charlotte Wendler from the Technical University of Munich. Their projects also dealt with topics of great future interest for the branch, namely “Fine-line and multilayer screen printing of sensor electrodes” and “Future opportunities for printed electronics. In their laudations, trustees Dr. Christian Maas and Dr. Thomas Leicht spoke highly of the constant and outstanding quality of both papers.
The two name-givers of the foundation belong to the entrepreneur family which has stood at the helm of printing press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer since the 19th century. Hans and Benno Bolza were great-grandsons of company founder Friedrich Koenig, and foundation board chairman Claus Bolza-Schünemann today controls the fortunes of the company as a representative of the sixth generation. “The over 200-year history of Koenig & Bauer has been a history of pioneering spirit, courage and innovative strength,” he said in his address to the three award winners. “Not least for that reason, we are proud to support young students and scientists whose research adds new facets to the development of printing.”
The annual advancement award of the Dr. Hans and Benno Bolza Foundation honours exceptional scientific papers in the fields of mechanical and electrical engineering. The focus is placed above all on work with practical relevance or applications in press manufacture and associated technologies for the printing industry.
