Stefan Jähnichen

Prof. Dr. Stefan Jähnichen has his sights set very high with his team – all the way into outer space. Since 2001, he has been the director of the Berlin-based Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Architecture and Software Technology (FIRST). One of his current project focuses on developing a miniature satellite, named TET-1, whose intended use is transporting devices for conducting scientific experiments into space.

A Return to Berlin after Researching Abroad

Stefan Jähnichen is an institution in himself when it comes to computer science activities in Berlin. After earning his doctorate at the Technische Universität Berlin, he conducted research in both Germany and abroad and became a professor at the University of Karlsruhe. In 1991, he was lured back to the Technische Universität Berlin, where he has been working as head of the Software Technology Department of the university’s School IV (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science). Jähnichen represents the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Architecture and Software Technology (FIRST) on national and international panels, for example, as a member of the German Research Foundation’s (DFG) Fachkollegium Informatik/Softwaretechnologie and as a member of the supervisory board of the European Center for Information and Communication Technologies (EICT). Stefan Jähnichen is also president of the the Gesellschaft für Informatik (GI).

Local Experts, Labs and Establishments 

What Jähnichen particularly likes about Berlin is its high concentration of top-rate and well-networked scientific establishments. “Here, industrial companies can find experts, labs and establishment focused on almost any subject area,” he says. “The city makes an unbelievable impact. Berlin-based scientists contribute their know-how to projects all over the world, and experts from all countries meet here to exchange ideas. From a scientific perspective, Berlin functions like the hub of a major international airport – a crossroads for scientists drawn from all nations and disciplines.”

A Satellite as a Fire Alarm in Space

Stefan Jähnichen has had much success at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Architecture and Software Technology (FIRST). For example, at his urging, the institute absorbed two divisions of the Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic in 1992. Jähnichen also looks back proudly on the BIRD (Bispectral Infra-Red Detection) project. “The BIRD satellite was a type of fire alarm in space. It could detect and analyze forest fires from space. We built a control computer for this satellite that controlled the little bird for many years completely autonomously and with exceptionally reliability.”

Science Meets Up with the Creative Industries

Stefan Jähnichen sees much potential in Berlin’s future: “In the future, the scientific and creative communities will cooperate much more closely. Many exciting projects and products will arise out of interdisciplinary collaboration and from a broad array of perspectives on the world.”

You will also find Stefan Jähnichen in the Who's Who Berlin: Capital of Science