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Honorary doctorate for Prof. Radespiel: aviation researcher with vision!
Prof. Rolf Radespiel receives an honorary doctorate for sustainable aviation research at the University of Stuttgart – a significant milestone.
Honorary doctorate for Prof. Radespiel: aviation researcher with vision!
On November 28, 2025, Prof. Rolf Radespiel was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Stuttgart. This honorable recognition took place as part of the university's annual celebrations. In the laudatory speech, Prof. Ewald Krämer praised Radespiel's impressive 40-plus years of scientific work in the field of aerodynamics of aircraft and spacecraft. His achievements in research into efficiency, noise reduction, safety and environmental compatibility in air transport were particularly highlighted. TU Braunschweig reports.
Radespiel not only received his doctorate from the Technical University of Braunschweig, but also worked in various important institutions. He worked as a research assistant at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and was a guest scientist at NASA on several occasions. Since 1990, Radespiel has headed research departments at DLR, where he worked, among other things, on comparisons to space aerothermodynamics and high-speed aircraft. In 2000 he became a professor at the TU Braunschweig and took over the management of the Institute for Fluid Mechanics. His focus was on aerodynamic design, high lift, drag reduction and flow control.
Sustainability in focus
In the search for more environmentally friendly alternatives, Radespiel is also actively involved in promoting young talent and issues of sustainability within aviation. The University of Stuttgart and the TU Braunschweig work together in the SynTrac special research area, which researches numerous innovative approaches to reducing the environmental impact of air traffic. The aim is to revolutionize aviation with sustainable energy sources and optimized aircraft. The TU Braunschweig provides information.
Another building block in this direction is the Cluster of Excellence “Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation – SE²A”, which focuses on the development of ideas and solutions for a more climate-friendly aviation of the future. Important questions arise here such as: How can flying be carried out in a climate-neutral manner? And what sustainable energy storage and fuels are needed? Research in this area is essential to rethink aviation for the coming decades and to adapt both aircraft design and airport infrastructure accordingly.
Political support and strategic initiatives
The federal government has been doing its part to support the aviation industry since 1995 through the aviation research program Climate (LuFo Klima). This program provides funding to develop technologies that make aviation more environmentally friendly and efficient. The overarching goal is to achieve emission-free and climate-neutral aviation by 2045. The Federal Ministry of Economics explains the background.
An important aspect of LuFo Klima VII, which begins in April 2024, is the development of new technologies that are expected to reduce fuel consumption by up to 30% and reduce emissions by over 80%. To achieve these ambitious goals, the industry needs a powerful national research infrastructure and innovative approaches, for example in the area of hydrogen propulsion systems and digital aviation methods. Further details can be found in the ministry's information.