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Prof. Johannes Pinnekamp farewells into retirement

On August 31, 2021, Prof. Pinnekamp was given a well-deserved retirement.

After studying civil engineering at RWTH Aachen University, Johannes Pinnekamp remained at RWTH as a research assistant and senior engineer, earning his doctorate in 1987 with a thesis on thermal sewage sludge pretreatment. From 1988 to 2000, he was project manager and managing director in a planning and engineering company in Cologne before becoming a university professor - initially from 2000 to 2004 at the University of Stuttgart.

Since April 2004, Prof. Pinnekamp has headed the Chair of Urban Water Management and Urban Waste Management as well as the Institute of Urban Water Management with about 50 employees. He also held the position of managing director of the two affiliated institutes, the Research Institute for Water and Waste Management at RWTH Aachen University (FiW) and the Testing and Development Institute for Wastewater Technology at RWTH Aachen University (PIA). He will continue to hold these positions at the affiliated? Institutes for some time in retirement.

During his time in office , numerous research projects were carried out in the wide-ranging research field of urban water management with a focus on, among other things, advanced wastewater treatment for the elimination of micropollutants, the recovery of valuable substances from wastewater and sewage sludge, in particular phosphorus, and the analysis of the effects of climate change and demographic development on the urban water management infrastructure. During his tenure, a state-of-the-art environmental analytical laboratory and a new pilot plant were constructed and commissioned on the grounds of the Aachen-Soers wastewater treatment plant.

His wide-ranging research activities in many areas of urban water management have resulted in over 600 presentations and publications.

Numerous dissertations have been written in the course of research projects; various are nearing completion. Additionally numerous interesting final theses of students of different courses of studies could be completed in this time in the context of the different projects.

Johannes Pinnekamp conveyed his knowledge to the students very clearly in many lectures. He was always approachable for the students. In addition to personal contact with the students in the courses and during many of the ISA's popular technical excursions, he was also concerned with helping the students in the event of problems. Thus, for almost his entire tenure as teaching ombudsman, he was available to mediate between students on the one hand and lecturers, examiners or the administration on the other in cases of conflict.

In addition to his many tasks in research and teaching, Johannes Pinnekamp very actively contributed his extensive knowledge and many years of experience in the field of urban water management to the committee and regulatory work of the German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA).

In the context of academic administration, Johannes Pinnekamp was active in various commissions and committees, such as the doctoral committee, the tenure-track commission or the examination board for environmental engineering. From 2012 until his retirement, he was chairman of the Commission for Structure and Finance.

Johannes Pinnekamp's successor is Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Thomas Wintgens; already since September 2019, both headed the institute and the chair together.

The Faculty of Civil Engineering expresses its sincere thanks to Johannes Pinnekamp for his commitment during his tenure and wishes him all the best for his retirement.