Professor Plaumann was appointed as Professor for ‘Design and Operation of Electric Drives’ at HAW Hamburg in 2020. He has also headed the ‘Technical Acoustics’ Research and Transfer Centre and the university's Acoustics Lab since 2023. He explains his interest in Virginia Tech as follows: ‘The exchange with the Department of Aerospace & Ocean Engineering provides a special insight into their renowned commitment to teaching and the research infrastructure there. I find their work in the field of acoustics with their different acoustic wind tunnels particularly interesting.’
During his week in Blacksburg, he gained an insight into research and teaching at Virginia Tech and got to know colleagues from different fields. In addition to the diverse, highly practical labs, he was impressed by the sophisticated design of the courses and the wide range of practical support provided in the labs. A particular highlight were the large number of high-quality 3D printers available to students for the practical use of additive manufacturing in student projects.
During a graduate seminar lecture, there were also in-depth discussions with doctoral students who showed great interest in the research at HAW Hamburg and within the framework of the ‘Hamburg Aviation’ cluster. These discussions ranged from ideas for short exchange visits between research groups with similar topics to longer-term collaborations in research projects such as the acoustic wind tunnel.
