On January 10th, 2017, a double anniversary party was held for two members of the Institute of Communications: Prof. Hermann Rohling had turned 70 in December, while technician Dieter Gödecke had celebrated his 60th birthday in the same month.

Prof. Hermann Rohling is a professor emeritus at Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH). He started his career in 1977 at the AEG Research Institute, Ulm, as a researcher working in the area of digital signal processing for radar and communications applications. Since 1988, he was full professor in the Institute for Communications Technology at Technische Universität Braunschweig. Having been appointed professor at TUHH in 1999, he moved to Hamburg and was head of Institute of Communications at TUHH until 2012. His many research interests included signal theory, digital radar signal processing, detection, estimation, self-organizing wireless data networks, and wideband mobile communications based on multicarrier transmission techniques (OFDM) for broadband systems. His numerous contributions in research are documented by a large number of scientific publications in the respective areas. Moreover, Prof. Rohling supervised more than 40 dissertations. He is the President of the German Institute of Navigation (DGON) and a member of Information Technology Society (ITG). He was also awarded the title of Fellow of IEEE. For many years, he has been the organizer of several international conferences, namely the International OFDM Workshop, the Workshop on Intelligent Transportation, and the International Radar Symposium.

Technician Dieter Gödecke joined the Institute of Communications at TUHH in 1986, only 8 years after the university had been founded. Since then, his broad scope of work encompasses the planning of the technical infrastructure, the provisioning, inventory and installation of devices and material, as well as the maintenance and overhaul of a wide range of equipment. Furthermore, he is regularly involved in the organization and technical support of various conferences and workshops. Moreover, he holds the position of safety representative of the institute. Last but not least, organizing the yearly excursion of the institute falls into his area of responsibility. In short, Dieter Gödecke is widely considered and appreciated by his colleagues as the man for all seasons, who is also extremely well networked within the technical staff of TUHH.

To pay tribute to this double birthday, all members of the institute gathered around a rich breakfast buffet which provided the appropriate framework for the party. The head of institute, Prof. Gerhard Bauch, used the opportunity to give a speech, congratulating them on behalf of the team and handing over presents to Prof. Rohling and Dieter Gödecke.

Clearly, birthday celebrations are a good occasion for looking back, discussing life and work at the institute during the last decades from the perspective of both jubilarians. This exchange of memories was fostered by a presentation of photos, which senior engineer Rainer Grünheid had compiled. The pictures highlighted numerous events of the institute, such as conferences, excursions, and other social meetings. Furthermore, portraits of former colleagues reflected the large number of Ph.D. students who were active over the years.

The colleagues of the Institute of Communications are happy to congratulate Prof. Rohling and Dieter Gödecke - they wish them all the very best for the years to come!