Curriculum Vitae

Prof. Kirchner, born 1969, studied mechanical engineering and applied mechanics to former Technische Hochschule Darmstadt from 1990 to 1995, where he also received his Ph.D. for a thesis on nonlinear optimization problems in structural mechanics. Between 1999 and 2011 he held various positions at Adam Opel AG and GM Powertrain starting from Analysis Engineer for Structural Integrity up to Head of the Department for Shift System Design and Release with global responsibility within GM, always focusing on combustion powered vehicles. One position he held was the Program Manager for the Concept build phase of GM’s dry dual clutch DCT program. From 2011 until early 2016 he changed subject and worked in the area of electric mobility with Schaeffler and Siemens.
By April 1st 2016 he was appointed University Professor for Product Development and Machine Elements at Technische Universität Darmstadt and has in the meantime started to build up new research fields and the respective test facilities. He authored a monograph book on vehicle transmissions during his industrial time and holds over 150 patents, mostly on automotive technology. Early 2020 he also completed a manuscript for a text book on product development to appear at Springer Verlag. Furthermore, Prof. Kirchner is a full member of Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Produktentwicklung (http://www.wigep.de, Scientic Association for Product Development) and of the Design Society. He is also a member of the Profile Area From Materials to Product Innovation at his home university.