Professional sports, teaching or engineering – for many people, these are the ideal career paths. For many young people, however, a career as a university professor is not their dream job. This was not the case for Alexander Neumeier, though: “I always wanted to be a professor, especially after gaining my doctorate in Physics.” That was in 2015. Six years later, Neumeier, who hails from Moosburg, has achieved his goal. From 1st March, he is to be Professor of Electrical Measurement and Electrical Engineering in the Faculty of Electrical and Industrial Engineering. In the coming summer semester, he will teach the subject Engineering Mathematics II and supervise the practical courses in both Sensor Technology and Electrical Engineering and Measurement Technology. In the winter semester, he will also be responsible for the Electrical Measurement Technology module.
The 35-year-old studied Technical Physics at the Technical University of Munich from 2006 to 2012, after which he completed his doctorate in Experimental Nuclear and Particle Physics. After spending a few months as a Research Assistant, in 2016, Neumeier joined the private sector and began working at Dräxlmaier. As a Development Engineer in the area of Test Engineering, he was responsible for developing test concepts for the electrical parameters of cable harnesses which are difficult to measure, and for developing generic solutions for series production. In 2017, Neumeier moved to SCHOTT, where he worked as a Development Engineer for medical LED products.
A university professorship always in mind
“Despite everything, I never stopped wanting to work as a university professor one day,” explains Neumeier. Neumeier eventually came into contact with Prof. Dr. Christian Faber through a master’s thesis which he supervised at SCHOTT. This contact also led to Neumeier putting in some part-time hours as a lecturer at Landshut University of Applied Sciences, which he really enjoyed. “That experience showed me what my professional calling really was, and when the Professorship for Electrical Measurement Technology was advertised, I just had to give it a try,” recalls Neumeier. He considers his field to be a great opportunity to make a difference: “These days, almost every physical variable is converted into an electrical signal with a matching sensor, digitalised, and processed further using a computer. This makes electrical measurement technology one of the mainstays of digitalisation.”
The 35-year-old is very much looking forward to beginning his new role on 1st March. “For me, being able to work in an environment with young people who are eager to learn is a privilege,” emphasizes Neumeier. Despite all his enthusiasm, however, he also has great respect for his new job. In the world of industry, the in-depth knowledge of a professor is not strictly essential. He is therefore very pleased that he will be able to build on existing foundations, and “expand them bit by bit with my personal knowledge”. Neumeier has already provided some important support to the work of his faculty colleagues. In this respect, through his former doctoral supervisor, he got hold of a telescope that was no longer needed by the TUM, which can now be used at an observatory which is under construction in Landshut.
Photo: Landshut University of Applied Sciences/Thomas Kolbinger
(free to use where source is indicated)
