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Prof. Dr. Ulrich Walter
German Physicist, Engineer & Former DFVLR Astronaut
Ulrich Walter, born in 1954, is a full professor for astronautics at the Technical University at Munich, Germany.
Ulrich Walter studied physics and received his Ph.D. in 1985 in the field of solid state physics at the University of Cologne, Germany, with research visits at the nuclear research centers Jülich, Germany, and ILL Grenoble, France. Thereafter he spent one year at the US research laboratory Argonne National Laboratories in Chicago and another year at the university of California, Berkeley, as a postdoctoral student. In 1987 he was appointed a member of the German team of science astronauts to fly the Shuttle Mission STS-55, April 26 to May 6, 1993, with 89 scientific experiments. In 1994 Walter headed the development of the “German Satellite Data Archive” of the German Remote Data Sensing Center of the DLR (German Aerospace Center) in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, Germany. In 1998 he went to the IBM Development Laboratory in Böblingen as a program manager in charge of development and consulting for IBM software products and as lead consultant for IBM Pervasive Computing software products.
Since March 2003 he holds the chair of the Institute of Astronautics at the Technical University, Munich. He lectures and does research and development in unmanned an manned space technology and in systems engineering. His main research is in real-time space robotics, intersatellite link communication technologies, technologies for planetary exploration, and system modelling and optimization. He wrote seven books, including the textbook “Astronautics – The Physics of Space Flight”, and published more than 100 scientific and numerous popular science articles in various international journals. From 1998 until 2003 he hosted the puplic science program “MaxQ” at Bavarian TV, in 2011 he hosted the German TV series “On the Way through Space with Ulrich Walter” and other TV specials on National Geographic Channel. Since 2013 to date he publishes a weekly column “Science achieves” on the web pages of the German TV news channel N24. Since Summer 2016 he hosts the weekly N24 science documentary “Spacetime”.
Ulrich Walter is president of the Hermann-Oberth-Museum in Feucht and member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Deutsches Museum (German Technical Museum) at Munich. Walter has been awarded several honors, among them the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Wernher von Braun Medal. He is bearing the honorary professor of the National Pedagogical Dragomanov University of Ukraine, the consultant professor of the Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an, China, the honorary doctorate of the Technical University of Ukraine, Kiev, and was elected German Professor of the Year 2008 in Engineering Sciences.
Speech Topics
Future Talks
How intelligent is Artificial Intelligence? Artificial Intelligence (AI) will radically change our world in the long term. But what exactly is AI? What is the current state of AI, and will it eventually match or even surpass human intelligence? Prof. Walter's research focuses on space robotics and geriatronics, i.e. robotic assistance for a self-determined life in old age. As a member of the Bavarian Ethics Council, he advises the Bavarian government on AI issues.
From NewSpace to AI – What lies ahead? We live in times of transformation. Technical innovations are changing our lives with increasing speed. How will robotics and AI influence our society? When and how will space tourism change our view of the world? Science astronaut Prof. Ulrich Walter heads the Chair of Space Technology at the Technical Uni-versity of Excellence in Munich and, as a member of the Bavarian Ethics Council, advises the Bavarian government on technical innovation issues.
Disruptive Innovations – What lies Ahead? Innovative developments have always been underestimated. Why is that? The talk will use illustrative ex-amples to analyze the misperceptions that even experts are subject to. Based on NASA's real space case studies, disruptive developments in the space sector (New Space), analysis of successful and failed busi-ness projects worldwide, and his work experience as a project manager at IBM, Prof. Walter will provide empirical guidelines on how we can better prepare for disruptive innovation.
The Darned Truth about the Future What can we know about the future, in principle and according to science? Why has it always been mis-judged, even by Nobel laureates and futurologists? This talk analyzes why we almost always misjudge the future and what causes our fears of the future. It explores what we can learn from this and how we can bet-ter prepare for the future.
NewSpace – Success and Ethos of a new Space Era This talk will analyze the NewSpace movement, which is challenging traditional ways of doing space that are generally considered too expensive, time-consuming, and sluggish for inventive risk-taking. What can we learn from NewSpace's disruptive innovations?
Motivational Talks
From Vision to Mission – Proven Project Management for Your Business
Based on specific case studies from NASA, his professional experience as a project manager at IBM, and the analysis of successful and failed business projects worldwide, Prof. U. Walter provides guidelines on how to identify, assess, and manage risks in your organization. Prof. Walter now teaches project and risk management at the Technical University of Munich.
One Team, One Dream – Risks included The project team is the key to the success of an organizational project. How do you select people, how do you motivate them to work towards a common goal, and what are the risks of teamwork? This talk will share lessons learned from how space projects deal with these issues.
Space Flight – Pushing the Envelope Space is the frontier of human exploration. It requires the best technology and the best people. A top-notch team is the key to mission success. How are astronauts selected? Original NASA and ESA astronaut se-lection tests are shown. This is followed by five years of training with detailed mission preparation, espe-cially spacewalking activities, and elaborate training procedures to ensure mission success even in emer-gency situations. How does one motivate a team to train effectively for such a long time, culminating in a solid launch day with no room for error? The talk concludes with a mission to the International Space Sta-tion and what life is like aboard the ISS. (Optional: A photo tour of the Earth).
Fascination of Space Flight
In 90 Minutes around the World An entertaining talk based on my book of the same name tells the story of my Shuttle mission..
The Home Planet – A Picturesque Journey NASA's best images from space take you on a journey around the world.
Beam me up, Scotty – The Physics of Star Trek An entertaining but scientifically sound talk about the possibility of warp drives, wormholes, teleportation, etc.
Hell Ride through Space and Time Based on his Spiegel bestseller of the same name, astronaut Ulrich Walter takes the audience on a jour-ney into space. Popular questions like: "What's it like to launch?", "What's it like (eating, sleeping, toileting) on the space station?", "Is it possible to travel to distant worlds?", "Is it possible to travel with light - or fast-er than light?"
What the Hell is going on in a Black Hole? Based on his Spiegel bestseller of the same name, this is a visionary and entertaining talk, rich in images, about a journey through the solar system and the universe, explaining Einstein's ideas about the Big Bang, black holes, wormholes, the possibility of faster-than-light travel, and much more.
The Future of Mankind in Space This visionary talk shows what the future of human life in the solar system could look like and how we could colonize our galaxy.
Are we alone in the Universe? Are there any alien civilizations out there? What do they look like? Can we contact them through radio sig-nals? Will we ever meet them?
Knowledge Base for Senior Managers
Product Life Cycle Management for Senior Managers Systems Engineering as a Body of Knowledge for Product Life Cycle Management. Principles of systems engineering. Macro and micro processes in product system design. Requirements engineering and the standard product development process. Product development models: From the US House of Quality to the European V-Model.
Project Management for Senior Managers Basics of international project management standards: Requirements Engineering, Iron Triangle of PM, Resource Management, Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), Statement of Work (SoW), Project Plan, Pro-ject Schedule, Milestones and Reviews. Cost & Time Estimates, Risk Management.
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