After more than two decades of research and teaching, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ralf Otterpohl, Director of the Institute for Wastewater Management and Water Protection at the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), will be officially retiring on 1 October 2024. Professor Otterpohl, who has been at the TUHH since 1998, has made a significant contribution to the development of future-oriented wastewater systems and ecological water management.
Prof. Otterpohl studied civil engineering at the RWTH Aachen. Prior to this, he gained a solid practical grounding having completed a masonry apprenticeship. After graduating, he did his doctorate at the Institute for Urban Water Management at RWTH Aachen on the dynamic simulation of wastewater treatment plants.
He subsequently established the engineering consultancy Otterpohl Wasserkonzepte in Lübeck, which is now known as OtterWasser GmbH. During his tenure, the office developed innovative solutions in the fields of sewage treatment simulation and ecological wastewater management. It is worth noting the development of the SIMBA software package, which was created in collaboration with the ifak Magdeburg and has become the market leader in Europe. Another notable achievement is the implementation of a partial flow-oriented vacuum biogas system in the new housing development "Flintenbreite" in Lübeck.
Since 1998, Prof. Otterpohl has driven forward numerous research projects at the TUHH. His research has contributed not only to the production of complete fertilisers and soil substrates, but also to the development of decentralised high-tech and low-tech systems for various regions of the world, including African countries. Particularly noteworthy is his commitment to rural development and his concepts for soil improvement and securing water and food supplies.
In addition to his research activities, Prof. Otterpohl consistently emphasised the importance of training the next generation of civil and environmental engineers. He taught both the Bachelor's and Master's programmes offered by the School. He served as the programme director for the MSc in Water and Environmental Engineering for a number of years.
On 11 September 2024, Prof. Otterpohl was formally farewelled at the 34th The Hamburg Colloquium on Wastewater Management. The Colloquium is a joint event organised by a number of stakeholders in the Hamburg wastewater management sector. It was held annually under the leadership of the Institute for Wastewater Management and Water Protection at TUHH.
The Department of Studies in Building and Environmental Engineering would like to express its gratitude to Prof. Otterpohl for his contributions and wishes him the best in his future endeavours.
