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Dept. of Computer Science  >  CS 4  >  People  >  Bolch  >  Obituary

In Memory of Dr. Gunter Bolch

Gunter Bolch was born on December 26, 1940 and raised in the Swabian town of Westhausen-Reichenbach near Aalen. He then moved to Karlsruhe and Berlin to study telecommunications engineering, specializing in information processing. Holding a position as a research assistant at the University of Karlsruhe at the institute of process control, he received his PhD in 1973 for his dissertation "Identifikation linearer Systeme durch Anwendung von Momentenmethoden" in the field of control theory. In the same year, his career took him to the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen as Akademischer Rat at the Department of Operating Systems, which had been founded only eight months earlier by Prof. em. Dr. Fridolin Hofmann. In 1982, Gunter Bolch assumed leadership of the research group for performance evaluation and process control, which under his guidance attained international recognition during the following years. He retired in 2006 as Akademischer Direktor, but continued to maintain close connections to the department.

Over the years, Gunter Bolch's teaching and research activities in computer science took him to numerous scientific institutions all over the world. He was a guest professor at the Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro (PUC) for two years. In the course of his research, he also spent time in the US, Hungary, the former USSR, and Berlin - the city that was particularly close to his heart. The research resulted in more than 130 publications and seven books.

His activities at PUC were not limited to purely scientific aspects. Gunter Bolch learned to love Brazil and its people, which was reflected in his life-long commitment to Brasilienhilfe e. V. It was this commitment that made him such a special person and is just one example of his willingness to help others. In times when for many people life seems to be too stressful and superficial, people like Gunter Bolch are needed more than ever. He always remained calm, even in difficult situations, and was modest about his achievements. He drew the necessary strength from his family, his large circle of friends, and, last but not least, from Jazz music.

Gunter Bolch died on May 29, 2008 in Erlangen, after a serious illness. Sadly, he was not able to enjoy his retirement for very long. He was highly respected by his superiors, colleagues, staff, and students not only for his competence, but also for his friendly nature. We will always remember him, and our sympathies are with his family at this time.

In the name of the department staff,

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schroeder-Preikschat
Prof. em. Dr. Fridolin Hofmann

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