Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI) (English: Association of German Engineers) is an organization of about 135,000
engineers and natural scientists. More than 12,000 honorary experts process the latest technical findings each year to promote the technology location. Established in 1856, it is the largest engineering association in Western
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.
Its role in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
is comparable to that of the
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
or
Engineers Australia (EA) in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, but includes broader field work. It is not a union, but promotes the advancement of technology and represents the interests of engineers and engineering businesses in Germany.
History
The organization was founded on May 12, 1856 by fellow researchers from the Academic Fraternity Hütte, in the small town of
Alexisbad, with the first journal officially being released to the public in 1857. In 1866 the VDI helped establish the predecessor of
Technischer Überwachungsverein, the Dampfkesselüberwachungsvereinen (English: Steam boiler inspection association). At the time, engineering was not regarded to be of the same ranking as scientific disciplines, which the VDI changed in 1899, with the re-categorisation of the
Technische Hochschule as a type of
University. In 1923 the VDI Verlag was founded, publishing monthly newspapers which are distributed to members. After the
Second World War the VDI moved its headquarters from
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
to Düsseldorf, where it remains now today. It also helped establish the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Kerntechnik (English: Society for Nuclear Technology) in 1956, which resulted in the German Atomforum, in 1959. In recent times, the VDI worked in conjunction with EXPO 2000 Hannover GmbH to establish the first worldwide engineering day.
Structure
Throughout its history, the VDI has been served by many presidents, including:
*
Carl von Linde (1904–1905)
*
Oskar von Miller (1912–1914)
*
Fritz Todt (1939–1942)
*
Hans Bluhm (1947–1952)
*
Hans Schuberth (1953–1956)
*
Gerhard Wilhelm Becker (1978–1982)
*
Karl Eugen Becker (1983–1988)
[''Absatzwirtschaft:']
Meldung
vom 1. Dezember 1988
*
Joachim Pöppel (1989–1991)
*
Klaus Czeguhn (1992–1994)
[''Absatzwirtschaft:']
Meldung
vom 1. Juni 1994
*
Hans-Jürgen Warnecke (1995–1997)
*
Hubertus Christ (1998–2003)
*
Eike Lehmann (2004–2007)
*
Bruno O. Braun (2007-2012)
*
Udo Ungeheuer (2013–2018)
*
Volker Kefer (2019–2022)
*
Lutz Eckstein (since 2023)
Notable Members
*
Blake R. Van Leer, United States Army officer and president of
Georgia Institute of TechnologyBlake Van Leer Named Dean Of Engineering
/ref>
* Carl von Linde
Membership
In 2013 the VDI had over 150,000 registered members worldwide, which also included scientists and I.T professionals. Members have opportunities to ask for help regarding job prospects and opportunities, receive news about the engineering profession, especially in Germany, as well as other services such as specialized insurance.
Members are also able to attach the suffix ''VDI'' upon becoming a member, and is classified as a legitimate name suffix.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Engineering societies based in Germany