Successful cooperative doctorate

On June 10, 2016, Ms. Christiane Bär successfully defended her PhD thesis at the Technical University of Munich, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. As a graduate of our university, she began working in September 2010 as a research assistant in the High-Voltage Engineering/Materials in electrical engineering department. From September 2012 and August 2015, Ms. Bär worked on a collaborative research project funded by the Federal Ministry for Economy and Energy on the topic “Test Methods for Evaluating the Water-Repellent Properties of Polymeric Insulating Materials for High-Voltage Applications,” conducted in cooperation between the Technical University of Munich and the University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Görlitz.

The project was supervised by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kindersberger on behalf of the Technical University of Munich and by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bärsch on behalf of the University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Görlitz. The focus for the Zittau research center was on establishing an improved foundation for an internationally standardizable, time-saving test method to evaluate the hydrophobic resistance and hydrophobic recovery of polymeric insulating materials. In addition to the hydrophobic transfer capability of specific polymeric insulating materials to deposited layers of contamination, these properties are also referred to as so-called “key properties” for their safe use under high-voltage outdoor conditions (e.g., as sheathing materials for high-voltage composite insulators) and therefore play an important role in the further development of plastic outdoor insulators for AC and DC power systems up to the highest voltage levels. Based on the project objectives, Ms. Bär was able to gain new, scientifically sound insights through the application and further development of suitable testand measurement methods, as well as in-depth process analyses, to gain new scientifically sound insights that contributed to the successful completion of the research project and formed the basis for her PhD thesis.

Congratulations were extended to Ms. Bär following the defense of her PhD thesis at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at the Technical University of Munich on June 10, 2016, by:

Building on many years of experience in applied research in the field of high-voltage engineering and materials in electrical engineering at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science' , Ms. Bär’s research once again confirmed that, based on focused project work, opportunities for collaborative doctoral programs continue to arise—which should serve as an incentive for the next generation of researchers at our university. And Ms. Bär has proven that the proportion of women in the “club of engineers with doctorates” can demonstrably increase.