During a scientific colloquium on February 3, 2023, Prof. Dr. Elyas Ghafoori, Professor of Steel, Composite and Lightweight Structures and Head of the Institute of Steel Structures, gave his inaugural lecture in front of numerous members of the faculty and other guests. His predecessor, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Schaumann, Professor of Steel Construction at the Faculty since 1996, was given a ceremonial farewell a few days earlier. Elyas Ghafoori also becomes a new member of ForWind and thus continues the tradition of his predecessor Peter Schaumann, who 20 earlier was co-initiator of the foundation of the research center.
In his lecture “Fatigue strengthening of steel structures: use of new materials and technologies”, Prof. Ghafoori gave insights into his previous research at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa) in Switzerland and outlooks on his future research goals. In particular, he presented approaches to sustainability in steel construction in order to contribute to the goals of EU-wide climate neutrality by 2050. In view of rising global demand for steel, such approaches are becoming increasingly important. This includes extending the life cycle of structures such as wind turbines through repair and new types of materials.
In their greetings, the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Udo Nackenhorst, the scientific spokesman of the ForWind research network, Prof. Dr. Joachim Peinke, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Raimund Rolfes as Managing Director of the Test Center Support Structures Hanover expressed their pleasure at the future collaboration with Prof. Ghafoori and wished him every success. “Wind energy research is still in its start-up phase,” emphasized Prof. Peinke – and thus numerous opportunities for research in this field are still open.
