Professor Dr-Ing. Peter Kisters

Professor Dr-Ing. Peter Kisters was appointed Professor of Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on Product Design in the Faculty of Technology and Bionics in April of 2011 and elected Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer in September 2019. His goals for Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences include integrating research and transfer deeper into teaching practices, increasing interdisciplinary research, and strengthening the exchange of knowledge and know-how between academia, companies and the public at-large. To that end, Professor Dr-Ing. Kisters coordinates various programmes to promote academic careers through the strengthening of knowledge transfer activities within the PRO4-HSRW project. Together with the Centre for Research, Innovation and Transfer (ZFIT), he also coordinates the transfer audit of the Foundation for German Sciences (Stifterverband) as well as the project TransRegINT – Transforming the Lower Rhine Region as part of the Innovative Hochschule funding programme. TransRegINT seeks to prepare not only the region, but also Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences for the challenges of the future. He is particularly interested in establishing research focus areas connected to the UN Sustainability Goals and thus sharpening the contours of Rhine-Waal University’s research profile.

Prior to coming to Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Professor Dr-Ing. Kisters was Head of Development at AUMUND Fördertechnik GmbH in Rheinberg, Germany, a manufacturer of handling and conveying systems for the cement and power station industries.  During his multi-year tenure there, he was responsible for developing a broad product portfolio and maintaining a worldwide network of contacts to subsidiaries, customers and universities. Other important responsibilities included simulations and experimental research into material flow processes, the optimisation of drive mechanisms (e.g. chains and conveyor belts) in terms of both materials and design, and the development of condition monitoring concepts for specific applications. Before AUMUND, he worked as Head of Calculations for a medium-sized engineering office with a wide range of projects and clients in the construction and agricultural equipment industries as well as the plant manufacturing industry. After earning a degree in mechanical engineering with an emphasis in drive and conveying technology at the Ruhr University of Bochum, Professor Dr-Ing. Kisters went on to earn his doctorate on the topic “Constructional Aspects for Separable Joints Using Elements from Shape-Memory Alloys with Components from Structural Materials”.

He and his team’s research at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences is focused on the intersections between material sciences and construction sciences. This includes, for example, research into the effects of heat-treatment processes on the strength of functional grooves in machine elements as well as research into optimising sheet-formed parts through local reinforcement. His research projects always feature a combination of fundamental research and practical application and are conducted together with numerous industry partners from around the region. 

A native of the Lower Rhine region, Professor Dr-Ing. Kisters is married and has two grown daughters. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with friends and families, travelling Europe, mountain biking and maintaining his home garden (for which, he admits, there never seems to be enough time.)