Prof. Dr.-Ing. Arnulf Hörtnagl

Dr. Hörtnagl earned his Ph.D. in 2021 at the Technical University Ilmenau in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering under the supervision of Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil Dr. h.c. Heinrich Kern, with his dissertation on "System Analysis of Corrosion Resistance on Polished Surfaces of Metastable Austenites." Prior to that, he completed both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Konstanz by 2011. Professionally, Dr. Hörtnagl served as the Department Head of Materials Engineering and Testing at Swiss Safety Center AG in Wallisellen, Switzerland, from November 2021 to August 2023. Before that, he was the Deputy Operations Director at the Institute for Material Systems Technology Thurgau (WITg) in Tägerwilen, Switzerland, from 2016 to 2021. Between 2015 and 2018, he also worked part-time as a self-employed consultant and trainer for companies. His career also included roles as a Research Assistant in the Materials Engineering Laboratory at UAS Konstanz, as well as entrepreneurship involving the development and marketing of a patented "snow vehicle." His academic endeavors included multiple teaching appointments, leading to his current position at THWS, which he assumed in September 2023.