On Friday 23 January 2015, Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences appointed Prof. Dr Julian Vincent as the first honorary professor of the Faculty of Technology and Bionics in recognition of his outstanding services.
Kleve/Kamp-Lintfort, 26 January 2015: The Faculty of Technology and Bionics at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences has awarded its first honorary professorship to Prof. Dr Julian Vincent, a lecturer in ‘Ontology in Biomimetics, Biomimetic Product Design’ at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences. Prof. Vincent is regarded as one of the pioneers in the field of bionics and biomimetics, enjoys an excellent reputation as an expert, has already filed numerous patents and received various honours from universities and research institutions. At Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, he helped develop the curriculum for the ‘Bionics/Biomimetics’ Master’s programme and has been teaching at the Faculty of Technology and Bionics for three semesters. ‘As an interdisciplinary field, bionics plays a major role in almost all degree programmes within our faculty. We are delighted to welcome Prof. Vincent to our university as an outstanding scientist and lecturer who conveys the technical and interdisciplinary requirements of his field in an exceptional manner,” says the Dean of the Faculty of Technology and Bionics, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thorsten Brandt.
As a world-renowned scientist in the field of bionics and biomimetics, Prof. Vincent – who was then working in the Department of Zoology at the University of Reading – founded the world’s first Centre for Biomimetics in 1991 together with Prof. George Jeronimidis from the Department of Engineering. The successful centre began with 15 researchers and staff and was 60 per cent co-funded by industry. Since then, the centre has carried out numerous interdisciplinary projects across many fields of research and published a wealth of research findings.
In addition, Prof. Vincent has chaired a large number of international research seminars, is a member of various research groups and has published numerous academic articles. “The mutually complementary interaction between academia and industry, between students, university lecturers and industry colleagues, was and remains one of my most important goals. My aim is to prepare students for their careers in a way that is as practice-oriented and forward-looking as possible, whilst ensuring they are professionally competent and have a broad-based education,” says Prof. Vincent.
The certificate was presented to Prof. Vincent by the President of Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Dr Marie-Louise Klotz. The laudatory address was delivered by the Dean of the Faculty of Technology and Bionics, Prof. Brandt.
Caption:
People in the picture, from left to right: Prof. Dr William Megill, Professor of Bionics specialising in sensor technology and robotics; Prof. Dr Julian Vincent, new Honorary Professor at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences; Prof. Dr Marie-Louise Klotz, President of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences; Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thorsten Brandt, Dean of the Faculty of Technology and Bionics.
