Communications and Marketing
Peter Kaul: Between 'crazy ideas' and big university policy
"A professor once said to me: There are two types of physicists. One does the maths and the other picks up the soldering iron. And I've always been the one with the soldering iron," says Peter Kaul. Although basic research is important, he has never been as enthusiastic about it, such as the question of which sensor technology can be used to control a ventilation flap in a car to prevent pollutants from entering the vehicle. With his practice-orientated, application-oriented approach, he is an example of the specific type of research conducted at universities of applied sciences (HAW).
Research to solve specific problems
His professional career began in the early 1990s, initially at a microelectronics company in Hanover. At the same time, he began his doctoral thesis at the University of Giessen, which he successfully completed in 1996. It was during this time that he realised that his future lay in science: "In research, you have the freedom to sit down in a team and work out how to solve a particular problem. I found that very exciting," says Kaul today.
This led him to Rheinbach in 1998 to the newly founded university. His first tasks here were teaching and setting up laboratories. He also took on responsibility in academic self-administration: as Vice-Dean and later Dean, he managed his department, in between serving as Vice-Rector in the Rectorate (today's President's Office) for three years.
Research was still rare at universities of applied sciences at the end of the 1990s, as they were originally founded purely as teaching institutions. This changed only a short time later - for the university and for Peter Kaul personally.
During the construction of today's main campus in Rheinbach, various energy systems were installed whose efficiency was not yet known. Kaul was given the task of testing the annexes. The research project initiated by the state became the university's first third-party-funded project.
The constant search for exciting projects
In the years that followed, the importance of research at H-BRS grew. It is now also enshrined in the Higher Education Act of the state of NRW. Peter Kaul was and is an important driver of this development. As a researcher, he is always on the lookout for new, exciting projects: "I like the challenge of tackling new areas of research and sometimes realising crazy ideas," says Kaul.
One of these 'crazy ideas' led to the founding of the Institute of Detection Technologies (IDT) and the Institute of Safety and Security Research (ISF) in the early 2010s: "At the time, we had a meeting with Gerhard Holl, who later became the head of the IDT, where he asked whether it would be possible to use our sensor technology to smell explosives. I didn't say no at the time. And that led to an intensive research collaboration," says Kaul.
Over the years, new research projects have emerged in which the researchers have used a wide variety of methods to identify hazardous substances. The end user has always been at the centre of all research questions. As with the recently launched EU project TeamUP, in which the team is developing a device that firefighters or paramedics can use to recognise explosives during operations: "I like to work on topics that are application-oriented, where I have the feeling that what we are doing will benefit someone. That's why we don't develop new explosives, it's always about detecting them to protect people," says Kaul.
The right to award doctorates: a milestone for HAW
Security research is now a research focus at H-BRS. Scientists, engineers and computer scientists work on interdisciplinary projects that go far beyond the topic of explosives. For example, there is research into plant diseases, pests or the odour of Covid-19.
At a political level, Kaul advocates for the interests of the HAW in various committees, not least as a founding member of the NRW doctoral programme, which received the right to award doctorates in 2022. This has advantages for PhD students, who now do not need additional supervisors from a university. But also for the universities themselves. They now have access to funding that was previously only available to universities: "The research work at HAW is excellent. And that's why I believe that the old 'Fachhochschulen' have had their day and the HAW now have a very good opportunity to strengthen their skills in research with the new developments," says Kaul.
Student projects are a driving force for the research-strong Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg: "Bachelor's and master's theses as well as doctoral dissertations are essential for us. We need to utilise the ideas of young people to move things forward. After all, they are the future of society," says Kaul. He himself has supervised over 200 theses and 14 PhD projects during his time as a professor at H-BRS (eight of which are still ongoing). He will continue to work towards the further development of HAW research in the future, whether at the university or at a political level.
Text: Pascal Schröder
Contact us
Location
Rheinbach
Room
G 133
Address
von-Liebig-Str. 20
53359, Rheinbach
Telephone
+49 2241 865 515