Jutta Hanson has nothing less in mind than saving the world. “That’s what I like to say when people ask what I do,” says the head of the department of electrical power supply using renewable energies at TU Darmstadt with a laugh. Yet no one knows better than she does how serious the issue is. “There is no way around the energy transition.” Reaching people of all backgrounds – from young to old, from specialists to curious laypeople – is something she sees as part of her mission. That is why her commitment goes far beyond what is typically expected of a professor. Jutta Hanson is a senator of the Helmholtz association for the energy research field, a member of the German national hydrogen council, a board member of VDE ETG, and an internationally active commission chair at DKE. She also serves on the VDE committee on studies, career and society, founded a task force on the shortage of skilled workers in energy engineering, visits schools, invites female students to trial days at her institute, gives expert talks for the general public, and serves as VDE liaison professor for the university group at TU Darmstadt. “But I don’t do all this alone,” she emphasizes. Saving the world can only be done together.
She starts convincing people as early as elementary school – and brings the parents along too: “We built a Lego model to illustrate the power grid. When the kids stop to look, the adults have to check it out as well.” At her university, she aims to inspire electrical engineering students specifically for energy engineering. “We have a very active student group that offers particularly exciting field trips.” She supports them by connecting students with companies in her field of expertise. “It creates tremendous value when students from all semesters and companies get to know each other,” Hanson says.
Formal appointment as liaison lecturer: Prof. Dr. Jutta Hanson with students and a VDE representative
| VDE Young Net
