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Michael Schultz studied, researched and taught at TU Dresden and now heads a new Chair of Air Traffic Concepts.
When an appointment requires the approval of the Federal Ministry of Defence, it seems to be a special university. This is what happened this year with the appointment of Priv.-Doz. Dr.-Ing. habil. Michael Schultz to the position of W3 Professor of Air Traffic Concepts at the Universität der Bundeswehr München (UniBwM) - the University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich.
Prof. Schultz is a true "offspring" of the TU Dresden (TUD) and in particular of the "Friedrich List" Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences there. He studied Economics and Engineering until 2002. His interest in aviation was particularly awakened by the aerodynamics lectures of Prof. (em.) Roger Grundmann. This was followed in 2010 by his dissertation at the Chair of Air Transport Technology and Logistics, supervised by his doctoral supervisor and head of the chair, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hartmut Fricke. After completing his doctorate, he moved to the DLR Institute of Flight Guidance in Braunschweig in 2014 as Head of Department for Air Traffic Systems. With his habilitation, he returned to the faculty, where he was most recently a private lecturer at TU Dresden. After the announcement, the faculty management congratulated Priv.-Doz. Dr.-Ing. habil. Michael Schultz on his appointment.
Professorship with conceptual and technical orientation and focus on operations
Michael Schultz has taught prospective traffic engineers and master's students on the aviation and logistics course at TU Dresden, including aerodynamics and flight characteristics, aerodrome operations and process planning & traffic flow control. Now he passes on his knowledge at the UniBwM. The UniBwM is a modern, civilian campus university where, for the most part, officer candidates are trained in a wide range of subjects. It is therefore a "completely normal university", according to Schultz, but where teaching takes place in trimesters.
The newly created professorship at UniBwM, based at the Department of Aerospace Engineering, has a conceptual and a technical orientation with a focus on operations. Here he can tie in very well with his previous research around the systematic analysis of the air transport system, says Schultz.
He wants to help shaping the future of mobility from an air traffic safety perspective, he says. "There is great potential here." Big data, automation, urban air mobility, drone research, but also dynamic airspace structures are the topics of the day.
Promoting young academics such as doctoral students and post-docs
During his work at TU Dresden, he says, networking with other professorships within and outside the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences was important to him, for example with telematics or transport economics. "Simply to obtain more knowledge," explains Michael Schultz. "Transport research is systemic research. Nothing can be considered on its own. At the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences at TU Dresden, the only one of its kind in Germany, there is a unique mixture of the most diverse research areas around the topic of transport united under one roof. From mechanical engineering to electrical engineering, communication technologies, computer science to economics and (traffic) psychology."
He continues to feel connected to his old place of work in Dresden. "I can well imagine further collaboration on research projects," he says. He also still supervises doctoral students together with Prof. Fricke at the TUD.
As a newly appointed professor, he has made it a priority to support young researchers such as doctoral students and post-docs. "Helping them network, find topics and develop their careers is something I find very important."
Personal details - excerpts
- until 2002 - Studies of Industrial Engineering and Management at the Technical University of Dresden, majoring in Finance and Financial Economics as well as Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering as engineering specialisations
- 2003 - 2013: Research assistant at the TU Dresden, "Friedrich List" Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, Chair of Air Transport Technology and Logistics
- 2006: Doctoral scholarship of the Erich Becker Foundation
- 2010: Dissertation on the complex behaviour of passengers at airports
- 2012: Scholarship from the Erich Becker Foundation for post-doctoral work
- 2014 - 2019: Head of the Air Traffic Systems Department at the DLR Institute of Flight Guidance in Braunschweig
- 2019 - Habilitation on "The future of aircraft ground operations": investigation of automated process flows in aircraft ground processes, design of a digitally networked aircraft cabin, development of dynamically adaptive process flows
- 2019 - 2022: Private lecturer at the TU Dresden, "Friedrich List" Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, Chair of Air Transport Technology and Logistics
- Since 2019: Visiting Researcher at the Air Traffic Management Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University Singapore
- Member of the Editorial Board of Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies and Editor-in-Chief of the Air Traffic and Transportation section of Aerospace
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Schultz - Current research and teaching
- Data-driven/model-based approaches for the improvement of (air) transport
- Flight/flow-centred airspace management
- Performance-oriented airport operations
- Traffic and process automation, digitalisation
- Extension of urban transport systems into the airspace
- Advanced concepts for intermodal (air) traffic management