Prof. Cornelia Denz appointed new President of Germany’s national metrology institute

Prof. Cornelia Denz (58), who is currently Director of the Institute of Applied Physics at the Münster University, will be transferring to the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) to become its new President. On 1 May 2022, Prof. Denz will be taking over this office from Prof. Joachim Ullrich, who will have reached the age of retirement and will go on to serve as President of Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG, German Physical Society).

Says Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier: “I am delighted that we have been able to recruit such an outstanding leader for our national metrology institute: Professor Denz has the long and excellent experience that is required when tackling the challenges metrology is facing due to complex applications in almost all fields of technologies. She will also be the first woman to head up this venerable and highly renowned institution. I would like to take this opportunity to also thank her predecessor, Professor Ullrich, for his excellent and untiring work for the PTB, through which he has added greatly to the PTB’s global reputation.”

PTB is Germany’s national metrology institute and based in Braunschweig and Berlin. Its roots lie in the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt, an institution established in 1887 at the behest of Werner von Siemens and Hermann von Helmholtz. Today, the scientific and legal metrology work performed by PTB greatly contributes to advances in fields such as environmental protection and climate action, autonomous driving, Industrie 4.0, and in applications of quantum technologies.

You can find Prof. Denz’s CV here.