Advisory Board

A dedicated board of trustees supports and advises the institute on strategic issues and decisions for the future.

After completing his studies in physics and organizational management at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Aschke received his doctor’s degree at the faculty of Plasma and Nuclear Physics, with the research focus being on lasers and EUV lithography. He has an additional education in business administration. Following professional appointments with Schott Lithotec AG and Limo Lissotschenko Mikrooptik GmbH, he joined the Trumpf group in 2015. From 2016 until 2019, Aschke held the position of CFO in the group’s laser technology business division and then headed the new business field Trumpf Photonic Components. From 2021 to 2023, Asche was CFO / CIO in the management board of the Göttingen based Carl Mahr GmbH & Co. KG. In October 2023 he joined the Photonic Systems Group, Munich, as CEO.

Aschke has been a member of the program committee in the government initiative »Optical Technologies« from 2007 to 2015, where he participated in setting up the »Agenda Photonik 2020«. From 2011 to 2014, Aschke was a member of the »Board of Stakeholders« of the European technology platform Photonics 21. Since 2007, he is also chairman of the board of the IVAM Microtechnology Network. He has held positions on the board of F.O.M. Forschungsvereinigung Feinmechanik, Optik und Medizintechnik e.V. (research association for fine mechanics, optics and medical technology) and on the board of directors of the Laser Institute of America.

After completing his studies in Industrial Engineering at the University of Greenwich and Albstadt-Sigmaringen University, Sebastian Bannert joined Robert Bosch GmbH in 2008. There, he initially worked for seven years at Bamberg plant and three years at Bursa plant (Turkey) in various positions in manufacturing. In 2018, Bannert joined Feuerbach plant in Stuttgart. There he is responsible for the industrialization of diesel pumps, exhaust gas sensors and fuel cells (PEM), engineering of manufacturing processes and sample shop for new products.

Since 2018 Hanna Böhme is acting as Chief Executive Officer of the city-owned Freiburg Economic Tourism and Trade Fair Agency (FWTM). Previously, Böhme held various management positions at Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) at its headquarters in Stuttgart, in Beijing and in Singapore. Originally from Freiburg (Germany) Hanna Böhme graduated with an International Baccalaureate from Li Po Chun United World College (UWC) in Hong Kong. She pursued her studies of economics with a special focus on the Asia-Pacific region and Chinese in Marburg (Germany), Taiwan and the UK and graduated in 2000 with a MSc in Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London.

Stephanie Busse studied law at the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg. In 1998 she joined Deutsche Bahn AG, where she worked in real estate management. From 2015 to 2022 she ran the tunnel and earthworks division in the headquarters of DB Netz AG. The research and development topics of these specialist trades also count among the main areas of her activity. Stephanie Busse is currently Head of Facility Management at DB InfraGo AG.

After completing his studies in nautics, Jonas worked as a research fellow at the »Ingenieurhochschule für Seefahrt« (school of nautics engineering) in Rostock where he received has doctor’s degree in 1991. He then took up a position of research associate in the Nautics Department of the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. From 1994 to 2008 Jonas was head of division »nautics information service« at the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie BSH, a higher federal authority under the jurisdication of the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure). He was appointed head of the nautics hydrography department at the BSH in 2009, a post that encompassed responsibility for marine survey and mapping of the entire German sea area as well as representation of all federal hydrographical issues in an international context. From 2014 to 2017 Jonas was Vice President of the BSH. In April 2017, he was appointed Secretary General of the Monaco based International Hydrographic Organization IHO where he commenced his duty in September 2017.

Since August 2021, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katharina Klemt-Albert is head of the Institute of Construction Management, Digital Engineering and Robotics in Construction at RWTH Aachen University. For more than five years, she previously headed the Institute for Construction Management and Digital Building at Leibniz Universität Hannover, where she researched and taught on digital transformation and digitization in planning, construction and maintenance. Professor Klemt-Albert studied civil engineering at Ruhr University Bochum. In 2001 she received her doctorate with distinction from the Technical University of Darmstadt in cooperation with Northwestern University/USA. Professor Klemt-Albert spent 14 years in top management at Deutsche Bahn AG, most recently as managing director of an international project service provider with 1,500 employees. Here she implemented major national and international projects with a focus on Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore and China. Professor Klemt-Albert is founder and CEO of albert.ing GmbH, a provider of engineering services and consulting for digital construction.

Fabian Lausen studied mathematics in Duisburg (diploma, with a minor in physics) and interdisciplinary science studies (master's degree) in Bielefeld. After completing his doctorate in the philosophy of science and working as a postdoc at Bielefeld University, he joined the Science Council's office as an officer in 2015. His responsibilities there included working groups on regional collaborations in science, on higher education governance, and on the postgraduate phase at colleges of art and music. Since 2021, Fabian Lausen has been working as an adviser at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Department 514, “Quantum Technologies, Quantum Computing”). Among other things, he is responsible for various topics in photonics funding, the establishment of the Jena based “Leibniz Center for Photonics in Infection Research”, and cross-sectional topics (e.g., Outreach, technology assessment, and start-up funding).

Dr. Mirko Lehmann has been Managing Director of Endress+Hauser Flowtec AG in Reinach, Switzerland, since April 2021. Prior to this, the physicist headed the sensor manufacturer Innovative Sensor Technology IST AG for 14 years. The sensor manufacturer is also part of the Endress+Hauser Group.

After studying physics in Stuttgart, Claus Mayer started his career in 1989 as a development engineer in the space department of ANT Nachrichtentechnik (now Tesat) in Backnang. In 1992, he moved to the State Administration of Baden-Württemberg as a consultant and head of department in the State Trade Office. In 2005 joined the Ministry of Economics of Baden-Württemberg as a consultant for micro and nanotechnologies, photonics, metal processing and aerospace. Since 2013, he is in charge of all activities relating to Industry 4.0. Since January 2019, Mayer has headed the Automotive and Production Industry, Logistics Department at the current Ministry of Economics, Labour and Housing in Baden-Württemberg.

Stefan Raible received his diploma in physics at the University of Tübingen and graduated with a Ph.D. in 1999, working in the field of scanning microscopy, silicon micro-machining and semiconductors. In 2000 he co-founded the company Advanced Sensing Devices, which developed and manufactured chemical MEMS gas sensor elements. After merging with AppliedSensor AB in 2002, Raible established MEMS based metal oxide sensors as the company’s key technology. From 2011 to 2014, he served as CTO, CEO and member of the board of directors. In 2014, AppliedSensor was acquired by the Austrian ams AG. Between 2014 and 2019, Raible held various positions at ams AG and supported the company as engineering fellow to define its technology strategy. Since 2020, Raible has taken over as CTO of the ScioSense B.V., which emerged from ams AG as a joint venture and is based the Netherlands. Since 2018 Stefan Raible is supporting the Natural and Medical Sciences Institute (NMI) at the University of Tuebingen as deputy managing director.

A qualified lecturer in physics, he has been working for Carl Zeiss since 2002, where he holds the position of Fellow in the specialist career path. In June 2013 Totzeck was appointed honorary professor by the University of Konstanz. His expertise encompasses optical measurement techniques, high-resolution microscopy, lithography as well as electromagnetic light/structure interactions and polarization optics. He is an author/co-author of more than 50 patent families and more than 30 scientific publications.

Wallrabe studied physics at the Universität Karlsruhe, now the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT, where she received her doctorate with a thesis on micro-turbines and micro-motors. In 1999, Wallrabe assumed leadership of the micro-optics work group where she developed components for optical communications engineering and sensor technology. Since 2003, Wallrabe is a professor for micro-actuators at the Department of Microsystems Engineering IMTEK at the University of Freiburg. Her research focus is on magnetic micro-structures and adaptive micro-optics. She is a board member of the Fraunhofer IPMS and of the Hahn-Schickard Gesellschaft as well as member of the University of Freiburg’s strategic commission. Since 2020, she has also been a member of the DFG’s (a nationwide Research Funding Association) board of experts in systems engineering.