Scientist and entrepreneur at the same time: for Georg Färber, Alumni of TUM and founder of two companies, this was never an “either-or” case. Very successfully he promoted his company, as well as his research results on a global scale. (Image: Uli Benz/TUM).
Great Personalities
As early as a twelve-year-old, Georg Färber enjoyed tinkering with radios and dealt with electrical circuits – “back then still based on vacuum tube technology”. So it suggested itself to study Electrical Engineering at the, then still called, Polytechnic Munich. Having completed his degree programme and with a very good diploma in the bag, Georg Färber took on an position in Cybernetics at TUM. “I fondly remember this time. I met great personalities, such as the later winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine Bert Sakmann or the professors Heisenberg and von Weizsäcker.” After finishing his Ph.D., it was time to start his own business. Teaching assignments kept him closely connected to TUM and in 1973 he returned to his Alma Mater for a professorship in Real-Time Computer Systems. His research results in the areas of Process Computers and Real-Time Computer Systems, Autonomous Robots, and Cognitive Vehicles received worldwide recognition. Additionally, his entrepreneurial spirit was in high demand at the university: “If you are responsible for a big chair at a university, you are some kind of entrepreneur as well, especially if it involves projects including several departments and faculties”, said Georg Färber.
In 1988, Georg Färber’s expertise was in high demand in the business world. He took leave from his position at TUM and became technical director at Mannesmann Kienzle, a company with about 10.000 members of staff. “This involvement was indeed perceived controversially, Georg Färber remembered. “But I believe that such exchange between the academic and economic world can be beneficial for both sides.”
Since he retired, Georg Färber held the title TUM Emeritus of Excellence, which the university awards to extraordinarily committed professors in retirement. He contributed his experience to TUM for years and volunteered, for example in the appointment processes or as a board member in big research projects.
President Wolfgang A. Herrmann and Vice President Dr. Ana Santos Kühn hand Georg Färber his golden doctoral certificate in December 2017.
Georg Färber (Image: Andreas Heddergott/TUM).
Diplom Electrical and Computer Engineering 1964, Doctorate in 1967
Georg Färber studied Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at TUM and did his P.h.D. on the information capacity of nerve fibres. He then turned towards controlling technical processes. From 1973 until 2008 he was Ordinarius for Real-Time Computer Systems at TUM and from 2005 until 2007 he was the director of the Central Institute of Medical Engineering at TUM.
In addition to his scientific achievements, Georg Färber has been successful as a businessman, as well and has founded the company PCS together with his brother. He developed the CADMUS Work Station, which for a long time has been the only European alternative to American devices, and which was awarded the Electronics Innovation Prize in 1985. From 1988 until 1989 he was the CTO of Mannesmann Kienzle. From 2011 until 2016 Georg Färber was ombudsman at TUM.
Professor Dr. Georg Färber was appointed TUM Emeritus of Excellence by TUM president Prof. Dr. Wolfgang A. Herrmann in 2008. He passed away in November 2023 at the age of 83.
