Martin Polke

Martin Polke (born September 7, 1930 in Beuthen OS ; † June 7, 2018 in Cologne ) was a German industrial physicist , manager , professor . He was one of the pioneers of process control technology and was a co-founder of the training of qualified engineers in process control technology in Germany.

Martin Polke (2013)

Career

Martin Polke was born in 1930 as the son of the architect Franz Polke and his wife Irmgard in Beuthen (Upper Silesia). From 1936 to 1940 he attended primary school here and then high school. Due to the events of the war, the family moved to Bavaria, where he obtained his Abitur at the Humanistic Gymnasium Münnerstadt ( Bad Kissingen / Lower Franconia district) in 1949 . After graduating from high school, he began studying physics at the University of Würzburg . After a year he first moved to the Philosophical University of Munich-Pullach (SJ, novitiate). In the summer semester of 1952 he continued his physics studies at the Technical University of Darmstadt , where he passed his diploma examination as a physicist in 1957.

tomb

During his work at the TH Darmstadt from 1957 to 1959, he began his dissertation with Fritz Stöckmann . He changed from 1959 to 1964 as a scientist. Assistant at the TH Karlsruhe in the Institute for Applied Physics. In 1963 he received his doctorate at Stöckmann on the subject of "space charge limited photocurrents in thin layers of hexagonal selenium". After that, Polke initially preferred an industrial activity.

Martin Polke was born with the religious educator Renate Polke. Vollmer married, the couple have two sons (physicist, psychologist) and a daughter (art historian). Polke died in 2018 at the age of 87 and was buried in the Melaten cemetery in Cologne (hallway 27 (Z) No. 24a + b).

Working in big industry

He started his career in industry in 1964 at Bayer AG , Leverkusen, in the engineering department for applied physics. Here he was initially concerned with electrophotography, measuring device construction and stereo scanning. From 1967 he became head of testing chemical materials in application technology. Two years later he took over the area of ​​responsibility as deputy head of the department.

In 1970 he was assigned the position of head of department with power of attorney and from 1971 was granted power of attorney . In mid-1971 he became head of the fibers division and was therefore responsible for planning, control, logistics, information, administration and system analysis. From 1973 he was deputy department director, and from 1975 he was given the duties of department director. Shortly thereafter, he joined the fibers division. In the fall of 1976, Polke was appointed director of Bayer AG.

In 1982 Polke was entrusted with the management of the process control engineering (PLT) engineering department, which he held until he left Bayer AG in 1990. In particular, with the level model as an organizational structure in production and the phase model for the production process, he created the basis for control framework concepts that were pushed forward by his employees and then created for all Bayer AG companies. Later, other companies also used this experience through the standards working group for measurement and control technology in the chemical industry (NAMUR) and developed and applied such framework concepts for process control technology for their companies.

Professor at several universities

Martin Polke has brought his extensive industrial experience in the field of process control technology to university teaching and research in a variety of ways. From 1984 he received a teaching position for process control technology at the University of Stuttgart and in 1987 he was appointed honorary professor at this university. Here he worked particularly closely with Ernst Dieter Gilles , Director of the Institute for System Dynamics and Control Engineering and later founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems in Magdeburg, the first technical science institute of the Max Planck Society . Communication also developed in Stuttgart between Polke and Rudolf Lauber , director of the Institute for Control Engineering (renamed to Automation and Software Technology ), who was chairman of the VDI / VDE Society for Measurement and Automation Technology (GMA) from 1988 to 1990, and Polke succeeded in this office.

From 1988 to 1994 he held a teaching position for process control technology at the Ruhr University in Bochum . In 1993, a teaching position for process control technology at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg in Saxony followed. Since 1993 he has held seminars on process control technology at the Miskolc University of Technology in Hungary, and in the 1995 winter semester he was a visiting professor there.

Finally, at the beginning of 1991, Polke was appointed head of the chair for process control technology, which was established for the first time in Germany, at the RWTH Aachen University , Faculty of Mining, Metallurgy and Geosciences. He quickly built up this chair, both in terms of independent academic teaching (textbook on process control technology 1992 and 1994) and in the practical research of the new subject profile. In a short period of time, he initiated more than 10 dissertations for main areas of PCT such as information structures and semantic information models, human-process communication and PCT design. In his development work, Polke relied in particular on his extensive cooperation network, which is also visible in joint publications: Ernst Dieter Gilles and Rudolf Lauber (Stuttgart), Günther Schmidt and Georg Färber (Munich), Hartwig Steusloff and Georg Bretthauer (Karlsruhe), Rolf Isermann (Darmstadt), Heinz Töpfer (Dresden), Dietrich Balzer (Berlin), Peter Metzing (Freiberg i. Sa.), Werner Kriesel (Leipzig) and others

Polke held this chair until his retirement when he reached retirement age in 1995, and he continued his scientific work afterwards as an honorary professor at RWTH Aachen University. He belonged to the circle of friends of the chair, was its chairman and is now an honorary member. Ulrich Epple , who worked in the process control technology of Bayer AG in the 1980s, was appointed as the successor to the chair of process control technology. A corresponding chair for process control technology has also been established at the TU Dresden, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology in the Institute for Automation Technology, which has been occupied by Leon Urbas since the end of 2006 .

Working in specialist bodies and as a consultant

Polke dealt with fundamental studies on the systematics of the reform of engineering studies within the framework of the VDI main group "The engineer in work and society". At the same time, he was head of the “Engineering Education and Training” division of this VDI main group.

Polke was a board member of the German Physical Society (DPG) from 1971 to 1975. In the DPG he analyzed in particular the sociological structure of the physicist and the professional profile of the industrial physicist in the FRG. At the same time he was chairman of the advisory committee of industrial physicists (BAI) in the DPG from 1988 to 1991. He was a member of the selection committee of the German National Academic Foundation (1970–1997). Since 1973 he has been actively involved in the university and university development working group of the CDU in Cologne (e.g. consecutive courses and campus structures; basic program of education, etc.).

Polke had taken on extensive consulting activities on educational and professional policy issues, for example for the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology (BMFT). He was also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Hahn-Meitner Institute in Berlin (1979–1983) and since 1990 has been a member of the CDU Economic Council, working group “Labor and Social Affairs” in Cologne (problems of unemployment and approaches to problem solving).

Polke worked on the board of directors of the international trade fair for industrial communication, automation, measurement and analysis technology INTERKAMA Düsseldorf (1986–1992). He was also head of department 9 of the standardization organization German Commission for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies (DKE) in DIN and VDE (1987–1991). During this time he also worked as chairman of NAMUR. Polke was then made an honorary member.

Polke was elected chairman of the VDI / VDE Society for Measurement and Automation Technology (GMA) for two terms (managing director: H. Wiefels). During this time he was also a member of the board of the Association of Electrical, Electronics and Information Technology (VDE), was a member of the program committee of the scientific advisory board of the Association of German Engineers (VDI) and chaired the editorial board of the VDI for VDI publications of the VDI- Verlag GmbH. At the same time, he was responsible for the two GMA organ magazines, automation technology (at) and automation technology practice (atp).

These two terms of office, from the beginning of 1991 to the end of 1996, were the first years after reunification, and Martin Polke provided excellent support for the German integration process of measurement and automation engineers. In doing so, he built on the previous activities of his predecessor Rudolf Lauber, and he was able to rely on his own long-term contacts with his GDR counterpart Werner Richter as chairman and Heinz Töpfer as honorary chairman of the WGMA in the Berlin Chamber of Technology (KDT).

Martin Polke had sharpened the application profile of the GMA during his chairmanship and adjusted the internal structures accordingly. Last but not least, he had led the GMA on a future-proof path through greater involvement of process control technology, process informatics and industrial communication.

As a member, he was a member of the supervisory boards of ELPRO AG Berlin (1993–1995) and DÖRES AG (since 2005). At the same time, he worked as an industrial consultant on issues relating to process control technology and system analysis. Polke was also the chairman of the computer science discussion group.

It goes without saying that the "Cologne-by-election" belongs to the Friends and Patrons of Cologne Customs Association, was chairman of the Dreikönigsgilde Cologne and is a member of the Senate of the Cologne Carnival Society 1945 eV

With his diverse, innovative work on process control technology, Martin Polke has also made an effective contribution to bringing automation technology closer to relevant problems in industry. He has thus successfully laid an important foundation for a future-oriented specialist profile in applied automation technology and process informatics. All in all, Polke left a lasting impact on his area of ​​expertise; he is one of the pioneers in process control technology and process informatics .

His work results were reflected in numerous lectures at scientific conferences, in industry, in associations and in universities, in particular on the influence of computer science on process control technology, on the educational situation and on ethics in the information society. Furthermore, more than 100 publications have appeared in specialist journals, conference proceedings and in book form with several editions. In NAMUR and in the VDI / VDE Society for Measurement and Automation Technology (GMA) Düsseldorf and Frankfurt / M. Polke had a lasting profile.

The qualified engineers and scientists trained by Martin Polke work in responsible positions and, for their part, ensure that there is an increasing number of young specialists in process control technology by performing teaching tasks. Many well-known specialists have emerged from the Polke environment and are active in different areas of industry and science.

honors and awards

• 1979: Medal of Honor from the Association of German Engineers (VDI)
• 1996: Merit Cross on Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
• 1998: Otto Winkler Medal of Honor as the highest award of the VDI / VDE Society for Measurement and Automation Technology (GMA).

Fonts (selection)

• Studies, occupation and qualifications of engineers. VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1976 (with H. Hillmer and RW Peters).
• Information budget of technical processes. In: Automation technology practice, Munich. Vol. 27, No. 4, 1985, pp. 161-171.
• Human-process communication. In: Automation technology practice, Munich. Vol. 27, atp special issue NAMUR status report, 1985, pp. 50–61 (with G. Färber and H. Steusloff).
• Systemic basics of process control technology. In: Automation technology practice, Munich. Vol. 29, atp special issue NAMUR status report, 1987, pp. 46–54.
• For the functional organization of control systems. In: Automation technology practice, Munich. Vol. 29, No. 9, 1987, pp. 393-400 (with W. Koerner and P. Moll).
• Network models as system-technical information base for process control technology. In: Automation technology, Munich. Vol. 37, No. 3, 1989, pp. 94-103 and No. 4, 1989, pp. 138-144 (with W. Ahrens).
• Tradition and progress - 40 years of NAMUR. In: Automation technology practice, Munich. Vol. 32, No. 3, 1990, pp. 105-109 (with B. Sturm and B. Will).
• Human-process communication from the point of view of the control technician. In: P. Metzing (Ed.): Process control technology in the coal and steel industry and environmental technology. German publishing house for basic industry, Leipzig, Stuttgart, 1993.
• Process control technology. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich, Vienna, 1992, 2nd edition 1994, ISBN 3-486-22549-9 .
• Process control engineering. Verlag Chemie, Weinheim, 1994.
• The information model: Basis for the interdisciplinary process description. In: Automation technology, Munich. Vol. 42, No. 1, 1994, pp. 5-10 (with H. Buchner and J. Lauber).
• Migration in process control technology. In: Automation technology practice, Munich. Vol. 36, No. 2, 1994, pp. 9-10.
• The GMA and its environment in transition. In: VDI / VDE-GMA yearbook 1997. VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1997, pp. 9-13.
• Company-wide access to process information with the "PLT - Internet". In: Automation technology practice, Munich. Vol. 39, No. 1, 1997, pp. 24-32 (with M. Arnold and U. Epple).
• Environment, restrictions, perspectives - introduction to the Oldenbourg special "50 years of automation". In: Automation technology practice, Munich. Vol. 51, No. 8, 2009, pp. 22-23 (with G. Schmidt).

literature

• Werner Kriesel , H. Rohr, A. Koch: History and future of measurement and automation technology. VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1995, ISBN 3-18-150047-X .
• Association of German Engineers, VDI / VDE-GMA (Ed.): Yearbook 1997 VDI / VDE Society for Measurement and Automation Technology. VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1997, ISBN 3-18-401611-0 .
• Karl Friedrich Früh a. a. (Ed.): Handbook of process automation. Process control technology for process engineering systems. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 1997, Deutscher Industrieverlag, Munich, 5th edition 2014, ISBN 978-3-8356-3142-7 .
• Wolfgang Weller : Automation technology at a glance. Beuth Verlag Berlin, Vienna, Zurich 2008, ISBN 978-3-410-16760-0 and as an e-book.
• Lothar Starke: From the hydraulic controller to the process control system. The success story of the Askania factory in Berlin and the device and regulator factory in Teltow. 140 years of industrial history, tradition and future. Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-8305-1715-3 .
• N. Kuschnerus: On the 80th birthday of Martin Polke. In: Automation technology practice, Munich. Vol. 52, No. 9, 2010.
• R. Marten: Control technology and guiding principles - conversation with Martin Polke. In: Automation technology practice, Munich. Vol. 52, No. 9, 2010, pp. 29-30.
• Leon Urbas: Process control systems engineering. Oldenbourg-Industrieverlag, Munich 2012 (with A. Krause and J. Ziegler), ISBN 978-3-8356-3198-4 .
• Wolfgang Weller : Automation technology through the ages - development history of a fascinating subject. Verlag epubli GmbH Berlin, 2013, ISBN 978-3-8442-5487-7 and www.edoc.hu-berlin.de January 13, 2012.
• Werner Kriesel : Future models for computer science, automation and communication. In: Fuchs-Kittowski, Frank; Kriesel, Werner (ed.): Computer science and society. Festschrift for the 80th birthday of Klaus Fuchs-Kittowski . Frankfurt a. M., Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Warszawa, Vienna: Peter Lang Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, PL Academic Research 2016, ISBN 978-3-631-66719-4 (print), E- ISBN 978-3-653 -06277-9 (e-book).