Kai Steffen (engineer)

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Kai Steffen in the Focke wind tunnel 2006

Kai Steffen (born August 9, 1968 in Bremen ) is a German engineer and monument conservationist.

Life

Steffen grew up in Bremen and studied production engineering at the University of Bremen . There he did his doctorate in the field of electrical engineering and information technology. After that he was mainly active as a keeper of technical Bremen and as a monument protector . He saved the Focke wind tunnel from final destruction and campaigned for the creation of a technical building for museums in the Hanseatic city. He also started an initiative to rescue the first rescue cruiser of the Bremen-based German Society for Rescue of Shipwrecked People , the test cruiser Bremen . Since 2014 Steffen has been a member of the advisory board of the Bremer Kulturforum Speicher XI, which operates the port museum there, among other things.

Projects

Focke wind tunnel

Shortly after his diploma, Steffen found out about the existence of the flight laboratory of the Bremen aviation pioneer Henrich Focke . He succeeded in raising the funds necessary to renovate the laboratories and in renovating the laboratory from 2003 to 2005. Since then, the wind tunnel has been expanded into a museum under his direction, in which research by universities and wind power companies is also carried out. Among other things, the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the first controlled helicopter flight at Bremen Airport were initiated by Focke-Windkanal e. V. back. Over 200 publications in all media appeared worldwide via the Focke wind tunnel. In 2018, ICOMOS will investigate whether the Focke wind tunnel will be included in the world cultural heritage.

House of Museums

Due to the ongoing discussions about saving typical objects from Bremen's industrial history in the Focke wind tunnel, Steffen and some friends initiated the idea of ​​building a central museum in the vacant post office 5 , in which the objects from Bremen's industrial history, which were previously distributed over the city, were to be built should be shown under one roof; For example aircraft from Focke-Wulf , space vehicles from ERNO Raumfahrttechnik , cars from Borgward , but also production facilities for the production of products traditionally made in Bremen such as coffee, beer and chocolate.

Trial cruiser Bremen

The former DGzRS test cruiser BREMEN 2016 in the port entrance of Horumersiel

As part of the work on the House of Museums , Steffen received a reference to the Bremen test cruiser, which still exists . As an important link in the development of the rescue cruiser of the German Society for Rescue of Shipwrecked People, the ship was purchased in 2013 by Klaus Huebotters Kulturforum Speicher XI and transferred to the Vegesack Museum Harbor. In the meantime, the ship has largely been returned to its active time and is still in service.

Future earth

In the House of Science, Steffen presented the concept of "economic rationalization" he had developed. It describes how the European standard of living can be maintained in spite of dwindling resources without further damaging the environment and climate. He comes to the conclusion that a sustainable way of life would be possible without further ado, but politically not wanted.

Awards

  • German Prize for Monument Protection 2005, as chairman of the Focke-Windkanal e. V.
  • Certificates of recognition from Europa Nostra (European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage 2006) for special achievements in the preservation of European cultural heritage both as a private person and for the Focke wind tunnel monument.
  • 2nd place in the SWB survey carried out among Bremen citizens , who is “Good for Bremen” (2008).

Works

  • About the use of a laser range imaging camera on autonomous vehicles ; Dissertation. University of Bremen, Bremen 2002.
  • Innovations from Bremen . In: Yearbook 2006/2007 der Wittheit zu Bremen, Kapitel Bremen, Stadt der Luftfahrt , together with Klaus Tietgens and Ute Kehse.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Frankfurter Allgemeine (PDF; 48 kB), November 22, 2005, Sven Bardua, Wo?
  2. ↑ Kreiszeitung (PDF; 1.1 MB), from September 24, 2008, Thomas Kuzay, A cross section in 20 minutes
  3. ↑ When a legend learned to fly. stern.de. June 26, 2006, accessed January 25, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Press review of the Focke wind tunnel .
  5. ↑ Wigbert Gerling: Post office with museums in a package ( Memento from January 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 166 kB), Weser-Kurier, March 18, 2007
  6. ↑ A concept to save the world - Bremen: Current news - WESER-KURIER. In: www.weser-kurier.de. Retrieved June 1, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Monumente-Online , 01/2006, Dorothee Reimann, Monument for the father of the helicopter
personal data
SURNAME Steffen, Kai
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German engineer and monument protector
DATE OF BIRTH August 9, 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Bremen