Obituary

The Austrian Society of Automotive Engineers mourns the loss of its founder and honorary president, Senator e.h. Em. o. Univ.-Prof. Dr techn. Dipl.-Ing. Hans Peter Lenz, who left us on 31 December 2022.

With Prof. Lenz, the ÖVK not only loses its founder and honorary president, but also a highly valued person who always had an open ear for his employees and colleagues.
Our deepest sympathy goes to his family and relatives, we will honor his memory.

Prof. Hans Peter Lenz was born in Bonn on 9 July 1934. After an industrial internship, he studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Aachen. He then worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Automotive Engineering and Internal Combustion Engines at Aachen Technical University. From 1962, he was a research assistant and a doctoral student at the Institute of Thermal Engineering and Internal Combustion Engines at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich under Prof. Berchtold, where he obtained his doctorate in 1965 on the atomization of liquids and the application of unsteady hydrodynamics to fuel injection in internal combustion engines.

In 1965, he started in the automotive industry as a test engineer at Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG in Cologne, where he was involved in the development of high-speed diesel engines. Just one year later, he was assigned to set up and manage the research department of Deutsche Vergaser Gesellschaft (Solex-Zenith-Stromberg), the largest European manufacturer of automotive carburetors and automotive fuel pumps at the time. In 1970 he moved to Daimler-Benz AG in Stuttgart. There he took over the management of carburetor engine development and the research and development programmes with the public sector and associations.

On 1 January 1974, he was appointed full professor and head of the Institute of Internal Combustion Engines and Automotive Engineering (since 2010 renamed Institute of Powertrains and Automotive Technology) at Vienna University of Technology. In 2002 Prof. Lenz retired - but remained loyal to the Vienna University of Technology and his former institute to the end.

Passing on knowledge and new scientific discoveries has always been a major concern for Prof. Lenz. As early as 1979 he organized the first symposia in the field of motor vehicles and the environment at the Vienna University of Technology. After organizing and hosting the International FISITA Congress in Vienna in 1984, he founded the Austrian Society of Automotive Engineers (ÖVK) in 1985, with which he and his institute organized and hosted the International Vienna Motor Symposium every year.

Under his leadership, the International Vienna Motor Symposium became one of the world's leading events of its kind. It is held annually in the Hofburg Vienna Conference Centre, where leading scientists and managers from all over the world present the latest results in the field of engine development, fuel cells, alternative fuels, batteries, hybrid technology, exhaust gas purification and future legislation. An accompanying exhibition complements the lectures. The top-class event attracts more than 1,000 participants to Vienna every year.

Awards and Honors

In recognition of his outstanding achievements, he has received numerous awards and honors, some of which are listed below:

1978 State Prize for Energy Research
1984 Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, 1st class
1985 Grand Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
1986 ARBÖ: Medal of Honor in Silver
1991 Grand Silver Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria
1992 ARBÖ: Environmental Protection Award within the framework of the Great Austrian Automobile Award 1992
1995 IGM Austria: 1995 prize for special achievements in the field of motoring
1997 Golden Decoration of Honor for Services to the Province of Vienna
2002 Professional Association of the Austrian Vehicle Industry: Honorary Award of the Vehicle Association Jubilee Foundation
2004 Medal of Merit of the ÖAMTC “pro merito” in gold
2008 VDI Society for Vehicle and Traffic Engineering: Benz-Daimler-Maybach Medal of Honor
2012 Béla Barényi Award of the Working Group for Veteran Motorists (AMV) Austria and Robert Bosch AG

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• Obituary Vienna University of Technology, opens new window