2022 Mr Dietrich Knörzer

Dietrich Knörzer (DK) made an outstanding contribution to European cooperation in aeronautics R&D through
almost three decades of dedicated work as a Scientific Officer at DG Research in Brussels.

DK came to Brussels in 1989 and worked with Herbert Allgeier in the pioneering days when the first EU-funded
program for aeronautical research started – a pilot phase with 28 projects. Over the years, the setup and organization for aeronautics changed within the different EU Framework Programmes. Bosses came and left,
but DK stayed on as a beacon and focal point for aeronautical research.

At one stage, it was decided that all scientific officers should switch to other areas of responsibility, but DK was allowed to stay within aeronautics. Apparently, someone realized that he was indispensable.

 
He served as Scientific Officer for numerous research projects in aeronautics and transport. He was the Commission coordinator for seven European Aeronautics Days conferences (Aerodays). The first one was held in Brussels in 1991, followed by Naples 1993, Toulouse 1997, Hamburg 2001, Vienna 2006, and Madrid in 2011, until the last one under his responsibility in London 2015.

For many years he was the contact and project officer for scientific networks and research support actions
related to aerospace. In this context, he took the initiative in the E-CAero project with the aim to coordinate the many scientific aeronautical associations in Europe and the many competing aerospace conferences like CEAS, EUCASS, and EASN. DK worked hard on this with the vision that in the future, there should be only one large European aerospace conference, to which the involved associations contribute with their experiences.

The result so far is the platform ‘AEROSPACE EUROPE’, the aim of which is to coordinate the calendar of the
various conferences and workshops as well as to rationalise the information dissemination. But the grand
vision is yet to be realized.