Richard van Basshuysen

Richard van Basshuysen (born February 29, 1932 in Bingen ) is a German engineer , author and publisher of technical and scientific literature.

Life

After training as a car mechanic , van Basshuysen studied from 1953 to 1955 at what was then the state engineering school in Wolfenbüttel with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was awarded the university degree of Diplom-Ingenieur in 1982.

After completing his studies, van Basshuysen worked as a research assistant at Aral AG in Bonn until he moved to NSU AG in Neckarsulm in 1965 . There he took over the test management of the engine and transmission development, where he was also responsible for the Wankel engine development. He was also appointed deputy head of vehicle testing.

With the takeover of NSU by Audi AG in 1969, van Basshuysen rose to head of engine and transmission development, and at the same time became head of development for the vehicle comfort class. As the elected executive representative, he was a member of the Supervisory Board of Audi AG.

In 1992 van Basshuysen left the automotive industry and founded an engineering office in Bad Wimpfen , which he has been running ever since.

Works

Van Basshuysen was jointly responsible for the development of the Prinz 4 , NSU 1000 , NSU 1200 , Ro 80 and K 70 vehicles at NSU . Later, under the umbrella of Audi AG, he drove the development of the passenger car diesel engine with direct injection , turbocharger and exhaust gas detoxification, even against strong opposition in the VW Group. This global innovation had a market share of over 50% in Europe in 2008.

As the owner of the engineering office, van Basshuysen is a consultant for the international automotive and supplier industry and publisher of the technical and scientific journals ATZ / MTZ , for which he has been writing editorials since 1991 . As the editor, author and co-author of technical books and other publications (over 60 in total), some of which have also been translated into English, van Basshuysen has an international reputation. Since 2006 he has been running the paid internet portal www.motorlexikon.de with his author colleague Fred Schäfer. Van Basshuysen is a member of the advisory board and board of directors of the VDI and the Austrian Association for Automotive Technology .

Honors

• Ernst Blickle Prize 2000 for the development of the diesel engine with direct injection (2001)
• Benz-Daimler-Maybach Medal of Honor from the VDI for "his outstanding engineering performance in the development of the passenger car diesel engine with direct injection as well as his long-term commitment as the editor of ATZ / MTZ and as a member of the advisory board of the VDI-Gesellschaft Fahrzeug- und Verkehrstechnik" (2001)
• Honorary doctorate from the University of Magdeburg for his life's work (2004)

Web links

• Literature by and about Richard van Basshuysen in the catalog of the German National Library