Erich Friedrich Michael Lackner (13 May 1913 in Himmelberg, Austria – 2 February 1992 in Kärnten) was a German civil engineer. He is considered to be one of the most important German engineers of the 20th century.

Professional career

Lackner graduated from high school in Klagenfurt in 1931 and after completing studies at the

Technische Hochschule A ''Technische Hochschule'' (, plural: ''Technische Hochschulen'', abbreviated ''TH'') is a type of university focusing on engineering sciences in Germany. Previously, it also existed in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands (), and Finland (, ) ...

in Charlottenburg (now

Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...

) in 1937, he joined the engineering firm Agatz & Bock, which had been established the previous year. Five years later in 1942, he was promoted to partner in the firm and was made an honorary assistant to Arnold Agatz at the university. As a junior partner in the firm, Lackner was the on-site supervising engineer for the construction of the well known

Valentin submarine pens The Valentin submarine factory is a protective shelter on the Weser River at the Bremen suburb of , built to produce and launch German U-boats during World War II. The factory was under construction from 1943 to March 1945 using forced labour, bu ...

. This was constructed between 1943 and 1945 under a contract from the

Organisation Todt Organisation Todt (OT; ) was a Civil engineering, civil and military engineering organisation in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, named for its founder, Fritz Todt, an engineer and senior member of the Nazi Party. The organisation was responsible ...

, using the labour of concentration-camp prisoners, who suffered a high death rate because of the conditions they worked under. Around 6000 are thought to have died during the bunker's construction. After the war, Lackner was appointed as the head of the civil engineering department of the United States Port Authority tasked with repairing war-damaged ports throughout Europe. He stayed at this post until 1947 and then returned to his previous position at Agatz. After Lackner applied for a patent for a new type of anchored, pre-stressed-concrete dry dock in 1953, he oversaw the construction of dry docks in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

and numerous other projects in the ensuing years. In 1976, the firm was renamed Lackner & Partners and was acquired by Inros Group in 1997. Inros was renamed Inros Lackner AG in 2004.

Teaching and consultative career

From 1964 to 1980, Lackner served as an associate professor in the department of Foundation Engineering, Soil Mechanics, and Waterpower Engineering at

Leibniz University Hannover Leibniz University Hannover (), also known as the University of Hannover, is a public university, public research university located in Hanover, Germany. Founded on 2 May 1831 as Higher Vocational School, the university has undergone six period ...

and later served as the director of the Institute for Ground Engineering and Soil Mechanics there. He published numerous technical and scientific papers in both English and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

during this period. Lackner was the first chair of the German Engineering Society's Committee for Waterfront Structures and Harbors after the committee was formed in 1949 and regularly contributed to its published recommendations for various projects. He also provided expert testimony to several inquiries of engineering disasters including a dam break that disabled the newly constructed

Elbe Lateral Canal The Elbe Lateral Canal (; ), is a long canal in Lower Saxony, Germany. It runs from the Mittelland Canal near Gifhorn to the Elbe in Artlenburg. It forms an important transport connection between southern and northern Germany, and it provides ...

in 1976 and another dam break on the then-under-construction

Rhine–Main–Danube Canal The Rhine–Main–Danube Canal ( German: ''Rhein-Main-Donau-Kanal''; also called Main-Danube Canal, RMD Canal or Europa Canal), is a canal in Bavaria, Germany. Connecting the Main and the Danube ri ...

in 1979. Lackner also served as the chairman of the Port Engineering Society (

: ''Hafentechnische Gesellschaft eV'') for many years. In 1993, the Society began presenting the biennial ''Erich Lackner Award'' for “outstanding contributions in scientific and technical work” by young engineers.

Personal life

Lackner married Ursula Ahlbrecht on 12 February 1941.

Awards

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross () was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Merit Cross was reissued in 1957 ...

with Swords *Honorary D.Eng from

Ruhr University Bochum The Ruhr University Bochum (, ) is a public research university located in the southern hills of the central Ruhr area, Bochum, Germany. It was founded in 1962 as the first new public university in Germany after World War II. Instruction began ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lackner, Erich 1913 births 1992 deaths Austrian emigrants to Germany German civil engineers Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 20th-century German engineers Technische Universität Berlin alumni Academic staff of Leibniz University Hannover People from Feldkirchen District