Technical societies – With expertise towards an e-dialistic future
When the first specialist society under the umbrella of the VDE was founded 70 years ago, there was as little talk of information, automation or biomedical technology as there was of microelectronics, digitalization, robotics or even artificial intelligence. Nonetheless, the beginnings of the Nachrichtentechnische Gesellschaft, from which the Informationstechnische Gesellschaft emerged in the 1980s, were groundbreaking for the way in which the VDE would build and expand its scientific foundation in the following decades.
Sometimes this was done in close cooperation with the VDI, the Association of German Engineers - as in the case of measurement and control and automation technology (VDI/VDE GMA) and microelectronics, microsystems and precision engineering (VDE/VDI GMM). Sometimes this was a sole spin-off from the ranks of the VDE - as in the case of information technology and then energy technology (VDE ETG). And sometimes, as in the case of biomedical technology, it was founded outside the VDE and the society only later slipped under the umbrella of the VDE (VDE DGBMT). "What all five specialist societies have in common is that they form the scientific foundation of the VDE," says Dr. Martin Hieber, CTO of the VDE Group. "They form a unique network of experts that is also unparalleled internationally."
This issue of VDE dialog is therefore dedicated to the five specialist associations - and above all to the people who make them what they are. In writing, pictures and sound, you can get to know the chairmen and managing directors and gain an insight into the work of the specialist associations.
We hope you enjoy it
Your VDE dialog editorial team
Other topics in this issue include:
Plug-in solar devices: Safe with standard and seal
Particle acceleration: Speed to the top
