Technische Universität Darmstadt facts for kids
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Technische Universität Darmstadt
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Athena, goddess of wisdom and strategy
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Former names
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Technische Hochschule Darmstadt |
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| Type | Public |
| Established | 1877 |
| Budget | €454.3 million (2018) |
| President | Tanja Brühl |
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Academic staff
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2,593 |
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Administrative staff
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1,909 |
| Students | 25,889 |
| Location |
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Germany
49°52′30″N 08°39′23″E / 49.87500°N 8.65639°E (inner city) 49°51′40″N 8°40′50″E / 49.86113°N 8.68056°E (Lichtwiese) |
| Campus | Urban/Suburban |
| Affiliations |
German Universities Excellence Initiative, TU9, CLUSTER, CESAER, T.I.M.E., EAIE, FGU, EIT, EUA, UNITE!, CAST
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The Technical University of Darmstadt, often called TU Darmstadt, is a top research university in Darmstadt, Germany. It started in 1877 and was allowed to give out doctorates in 1899.
TU Darmstadt was a pioneer in many fields. In 1882, it was the first university in the world to have a professor for electrical engineering. The next year, it created the first electrical engineering department and offered the world's first degree in this subject.
Many important subjects in Germany, like computer science, artificial intelligence, and mechatronics, were first taught here. In 2004, it became the first German university to manage itself.
TU Darmstadt is part of the Rhine-Main-Universities (RMU) group with two other universities. It is also a member of TU9, which is a group of the nine best technical universities in Germany. It's also part of Unite!, a European university group.
The university is home to parts of the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence. It's also part of the ATHENE-Center, Europe's biggest research place for cybersecurity. TU Darmstadt is located in the "Silicon Valley of Germany," the IT cluster Rhine-Main-Neckar.
Many famous people have studied at TU Darmstadt. These include Nobel Prize winners, successful business people, and politicians. As of September 2019, four Nobel laureates and three Wolf Prize in Physics winners are connected to the university. TU Darmstadt graduates are often found in top management jobs in Germany. Some famous alumni include Oliver Zipse, Peter Grünberg, Chaim Weizmann, and John Tu.
Contents
Discovering TU Darmstadt's History
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On October 10, 1877, Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse, changed the Polytechnische Schule (Polytechnic School) into the Technische Hochschule zu Darmstadt. This made it a university. From then on, students needed a special school certificate called the Abitur to get in. In 1899, the university was allowed to award doctorates.
How it All Began
The university's story started with smaller schools. These included the Höhere Gewerbeschule (Higher Trade School) in 1836 and the Technische Schule (Technical School) in 1864. Later, it became the Großherzoglich Hessische Polytechnische Schule (Grand Ducal Hessian Polytechnic) in 1868.
For a while, people wondered if the region could afford a big technical school or polytechnic. After the university started in 1877, not many students joined. There were even talks about closing it down between 1881 and 1882.
But the local government and the university made a brave choice. They decided to create the world's first professor position for electrical engineering. This led to the first Faculty of Electrical Engineering. This was a new idea in universities! This smart decision helped Darmstadt become a leader in electrical engineering. More students started coming, and no one talked about closing the university again.
First Steps as a University
In 1895, new buildings opened on Hochschulstrasse. These included the Altes Hauptgebäude (the 'Old Main Building'). In the years before World War I, the university added many new subjects. These included paper making and cellulose chemistry. In 1913, they even started a special area for Aeronautics and Flight Mechanics.
Before World War I, there was a lot of debate about foreign students. TU Darmstadt had many international students, especially in electrical engineering. In 1906, three-quarters of these students were from other countries.
After World War I, the university needed to change its education system. The goal was to prepare engineers for their important roles in society. In 1924, they divided the 'General Faculty' into two new departments. One was for Mathematics and Natural Science, and the other for Cultural Studies and Political Science. They also added subjects like Economics, political science, history of technology, and sociology.
During World War II
During a difficult time in Germany's history, some professors had to leave TU Darmstadt. For example, Gerhard Herzberg, who later won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1971, left in 1934.
On the night of September 11-12, 1944, many of the university's buildings were destroyed during bomb attacks. About eighty percent of the city was damaged. For a short time in 1945, parts of the university might have been closed. But it reopened in 1946. Even with damaged buildings, staff and students worked hard to continue their studies.
After World War II
In 1947, TU Darmstadt hosted the first International Congress on Engineering Education. People discussed the responsibility of scientists and engineers. They agreed to focus research and teaching on peaceful uses for humanity.
The university grew a lot in the 1960s. Since there wasn't much space in the city center, they decided in 1963 to use the 'Lichtwiese' (a former airfield) for new buildings. Many new buildings, including a student cafeteria, were built there in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This became the university's second campus.
University Changes in the 1970s
After 1968, big changes in universities started to happen in Germany. The goal was to make university structures clearer and let all university members help with decisions. In 1970, a new law for higher education came into effect in Hessen. This law gave TU Darmstadt a new structure with departments and a unified administration.
In the mid-1970s, student numbers rose quickly. But there weren't enough staff, so the university had to limit how many students could join. Even with these challenges, TU Darmstadt started new important areas. These included the School of Information Science in 1974 and the Department of Materials Science in 1989.
New Name for the University
By the late 1800s, TU Darmstadt was already a full university with many subjects. To make its status clearer, especially to people in other countries, its name was changed on October 1, 1997. It became Technische Universität Darmstadt. Before this, Technische Hochschule was sometimes misunderstood as 'Technical High School' in English-speaking countries, which was confusing.
Becoming an Autonomous University
On January 1, 2005, TU Darmstadt became the first public university in Germany to manage itself. This meant it could handle its own budget and buildings. It could also hire professors and decide their salaries, which the State of Hessen used to do. Being autonomous also allows the university to invest in new business ideas started by its students or staff. TU Darmstadt is the only German university that has promised to ensure good study conditions for its students.
TU Darmstadt: A Pioneer in Education
TU Darmstadt has been a leader in many ways:
- In 1882, it was the first university in the world to have a professor for electrical engineering. In 1883, it started the first electrical engineering department and the world's first degree course in this field.
- In 1913, it set up Germany's first professor position for aviation and aircraft technology.
- In 1951, it created the first professor position for scientific policy in Germany. Eugen Kogon, a founder of political science in Germany, was the first to hold this position.
- In 1973, it established Germany's first professor position for management control systems.
- The beginnings of computer science in Germany can be traced back to TU Darmstadt in 1928. In 1956, it offered Germany's first programming lectures.
- The first international computer science congress in German-speaking countries took place at TU Darmstadt in 1955.
- In 1968, TU Darmstadt introduced a first degree course in computer science. In 1975, it started the first degree course in business informatics.
- Artificial intelligence as a scientific field in Germany and Europe was started by Wolfgang Bibel, a professor at TU Darmstadt. He set up an AI research group in 1988.
- In 1996, the first professor position in Germany for renewable energies was set up here.
- In 2004, it became the first German university to be declared autonomous.
What You Can Study and Research
Departments at TU Darmstadt
Like other technical universities, most of TU Darmstadt's 13 departments focus on engineering, natural sciences, and mathematics. Three departments are in social sciences and humanities. The departments are:
- Law and Economics (FB1)
- History and Social Sciences (FB2)
- Human Sciences (FB3)
- Mathematics (FB4)
- Physics (FB5)
- Chemistry (FB7)
- Biology (FB10)
- Materials and Earth Sciences (FB11)
- Civil and Environmental Engineering (FB13)
- Architecture (FB15)
- Mechanical Engineering (FB16)
- Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (FB18)
- Computer Science (FB20)
Fields of Study
TU Darmstadt offers five special fields of study called Studienbereiche. These are interdisciplinary, meaning students take classes from different departments. They include:
- Computational engineering
- Energy science and engineering
- Information systems engineering
- Mechanics
- Mechatronics
The university offers about 100 different courses. Besides bachelor's and master's degrees, you can also study to become a teacher for German vocational schools and high schools.
Research Focus Areas
TU Darmstadt has three main research areas:
- Energy and Environment (E+E)
- Information and Intelligence (I+I)
- Matter and Materials (M+M)
These areas help define the university's strong reputation in research.
Research Projects
TU Darmstadt has many special research units and graduate schools. These are funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation). The university has also attracted many national and international research groups to Darmstadt, known as the "City of Science." Some of these include:
- GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research (GSI)
- Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology SIT
- Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD
- European Space Operations Centre (ESOC)
- European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellite (EUMETSAT)
- ATHENE
- German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence
- Hessian Center for Artificial Intelligence (hessian.AI)
TU Darmstadt works closely with these institutes. For example, it has a special partnership with GSI. They are working together to build the FAIR Facility.
The European Space Agency has also set up a research lab at TU Darmstadt. This is the first lab ESA has opened at a German university.
In 2018, TU Darmstadt won a competition from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). It is now building an Institute for Manufacturing with 50 partners. These partners include big companies like Siemens, Volkswagen, and Volvo.
TU Darmstadt is also part of the German Universities Excellence Initiative. This program has supported important research groups and graduate schools at the university.
Working with Companies
TU Darmstadt works with many companies and research groups on different projects. Some examples are:
- PRORETA: A project with Continental AG to create driver assistance systems that help prevent car accidents.
- Merck Lab: A long-term partnership with Merck Group for research in chemistry and materials science.
- Intel Collaborative Research Institute for Secure Computing (ICRI-SC): A joint institute with Intel that focuses on the security of computer systems. This is Intel's first IT security research center outside the USA.
- SAP Research: A cooperation with the software company SAP SE for research in various fields.
TU Darmstadt is also a member of CAST. This is the largest network for cybersecurity companies in German-speaking countries.
Special Partnerships
The university has different types of special partnerships. These include strategic alliances, cooperative labs, and cooperation institutes.
TU Darmstadt has strategic alliances with major companies like Merck, Deutsche Bahn, Continental, Robert Bosch GmbH, and Siemens.
Cooperative Labs are research labs that the university runs with a partner. They are usually located at TU Darmstadt. These labs do joint research on a wide range of topics. For example, the Merck Lab has been researching new materials for electronics since 2006.
Some special partnerships can become a TU Darmstadt cooperation institute. Since 2012, the DB Schenker Lab has been the first of these. It aims to expand research in transport and logistics.
Helping New Businesses Start
TU Darmstadt has a center called HIGHEST. This center helps students and researchers turn their ideas into new businesses. HIGHEST helps with business plans, finding funding, and connecting with mentors and investors. It also offers workshops on innovation and starting businesses.
Because the university can manage itself, it can even invest its own money in new start-up companies. TU Darmstadt has been recognized as a leading university for making it easy to start new businesses. Since 2013, 95 new technology companies have been founded near TU Darmstadt. The university also holds a "Startup & Innovation Day" each year. Here, new companies from the region show off their ideas.
Powerful Computers for Research
TU Darmstadt is one of the few German universities with a high-performance computer. It's called Lichtenberg, named after Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. This computer has a computing power of about 1 PetaFLOPS. For comparison, the fastest supercomputer in June 2019, Summit, had 148.6 PetaFLOPS. In 2015, Lichtenberg was ranked 410th in the TOP500 list of supercomputers.
In 2017, TU Darmstadt received 15 million euros to expand Lichtenberg into Lichtenberg II. This new version will be more than twice as powerful. It will be used especially for computational engineering, a key research area at TU Darmstadt.
The university is also part of the Competence Center for High Performance Computing in Hessen (HKHLR). This group includes other universities in Hessen that also have powerful computers.
Robotics Research
TU Darmstadt is also famous around the world for its robot research.
- The search and rescue robot Hector (Heterogeneous Cooperating Team Of Robots) was developed by the computer science department. It won first place in the "Best in Class Autonomy" category at the RoboCup Rescue Robot League from 2012 to 2015 and again in 2018 and 2019. This means Hector was the most intelligent robot.
- In 2015, a team from TU Darmstadt competed in the DARPA Robotics Challenge with two robots, Johnny 05 and Florian.
- In 2017, the Argonaut robot, developed by a team led by Oskar von Stryk, won the ARGOS Challenge. This competition was for smart inspection robots on oil and gas platforms. Argonaut is the first fully autonomous robot for inspecting these plants.
- In 2018, Hector won first place at the World Robot Summit in Tokyo in the "Plant Disaster Prevention Challenge."
- Since 2018, the research team has been building the German Rescue Robotics Centre.
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Robot Florian at the DARPA Robotics Challenge 2015
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Robot Johnny 05 at the DARPA Robotics Challenge 2015
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Robot Argonaut at the ARGOS Challenge
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Hector UGV identifies a victim using a probabilistic world model, based on information from heterogeneous sensors.
University Campuses
The university has 164 buildings and covers about 600 acres (2.4 km²). Its main locations are three campuses: Inner City, Lichtwiese, and Botanical Garden. Some facilities are also in other parts of Darmstadt and in Griesheim, a nearby town.
Inner City Campus
This campus is right in the center of Darmstadt. You can easily get there by tram and bus. The departments here include Electrical Engineering, History and Social Sciences, Human Sciences, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, and Law and Economics.
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Robert Piloty Building, Department of Computer Science, 2006
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Altes Hauptgebäude of TU Darmstadt, 2008
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Kantplatz, Darmstadt, 2007
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Darmstadt former Ducal Palace, now part of TU Darmstadt, with market square
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Campus Square, Inner City Campus of TU Darmstadt, with University Library and sculpture "Büste" by Franz Bernhard
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Main Entrance and Administrative Building, City Campus TU Darmstadt 2018
Campus Lichtwiese
The Lichtwiese campus is in the eastern part of Darmstadt. You can reach it by bus and a nearby train station. The departments located here are Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, and Materials and Earth Sciences.
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Canteen at Campus Lichtwiese, 2007
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Giant gear in front of the mechanical engineering building, 2007
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Department of Architecture, 2007
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Institute of Materials Science, TU Darmstadt Lichtwiese Campus
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Lecture Halls and Library Building at Lichtwiese Campus
Botanical Garden Campus
The Botanical Garden of TU Darmstadt is close to the Lichtwiese Campus. The Department of Biology (FB10) is located here. There are also buildings for the Department of Materials and Earth Sciences and parts of the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences.
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Greenhouse, 2009
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Botanical Garden Campus of TU Darmstadt
Griesheim Airfield
Since 2005, TU Darmstadt has owned the August Euler Airfield. This is Germany's oldest airfield, named after aviation pioneer August Euler. The airfield is used for scientific research. For example, they test driver assistance systems and automotive lighting here. The university's wind tunnels are also located near the airfield.
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August Euler Airfield, 2011
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International Connections
About 18% of students at TU Darmstadt are from other countries. This is higher than the average for German universities, which is about 13%. TU Darmstadt has partnerships with over 300 universities in 53 countries. These partnerships allow students to study abroad or come to TU Darmstadt. Some partner universities include the University of California, Berkeley, Nanyang Technological University, and Seoul National University.
The European Commission has given TU Darmstadt the title "European University." It is part of the UNITE! (University Network for Innovation, Technology and Engineering) alliance with six other European technical universities. The goal of UNITE! is to create a shared European campus. It also aims to offer shared courses and improve scientific cooperation.
The university offers master's programs taught in English. It also has many double degree programs, where students can earn two degrees from different universities. For example, the "Mundus Urbano" master's program is offered with universities in France, Spain, and Italy.
TU Darmstadt is also a member of the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research.
Student Life at TU Darmstadt
Activities and Sports
TU Darmstadt offers many sports courses. It has three sports halls, a sports stadium with various fields, a swimming pool, and a fitness studio. The university has won the German Olympic Sports Confederation's university competition three times in a row. This makes it the most athletic university in Germany.
There are many student groups you can join. These include the Formula SAE TU Darmstadt Racing Team (DART), TU Darmstadt Space Technology (TUDSaT), and Akaflieg Darmstadt (a flying club). There's also a theater group, an orchestra, and a campus radio station called AudioMax. Each year, students organize konaktiva, a job fair that connects about 10,000 students with potential employers.
Student Representation
Students at TU Darmstadt have their own government. The students' parliament (Studierendenparlament, StuPa) is elected every year. This parliament then chooses the General Students' Committee (Allgemeiner Studierendenausschuss, AStA). The AStA works on university policies and helps students with social and financial advice. It also runs a café, a beer garden, a club, an office supply store, and a bike garage. Students can also take non-credit courses taught by other students, organized by the AStA.
Besides the AStA, each department has its own student council (Fachschaftsrat). Students from these councils participate in department meetings and help make decisions.
Housing for Students
In 2016, students in Darmstadt paid about 348 euros per month for rent, heating, and utilities. This made Darmstadt the ninth most expensive city for students in Germany at the time. This number was for students living alone, not married, and in their first degree.
The state-run student affairs organization, Studierendenwerk Darmstadt, offers about 2600 beds in 10 student dorms. These dorms are for students of TU Darmstadt and the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences.
University Reputation and Rankings
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In the QS World University Rankings of 2024, TU Darmstadt was ranked 246th globally. This made it the 15th best university in Germany. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2024 placed it between 251st and 300th worldwide. In Germany, it ranked between 25th and 31st. The 2023 ARWU World Rankings put it between 401st and 500th globally, and 25th to 31st nationally.
For several years, TU Darmstadt has been a top university for producing managers in German companies. It currently ranks number one. Nine board members of Germany's biggest companies (DAX listed) studied there.
On average, graduates from TU Darmstadt earn the second-highest salary among all public universities in Germany during their first two years of work.
In the latest Humboldt-Ranking by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, TU Darmstadt is ranked first in engineering.
According to the German Research Foundation (DFG) report from 2018, TU Darmstadt received the most funding of any German university for computer science research. It also received the fourth highest funding for engineering.
CSRankings is a ranking that looks at research achievements in computer science. According to this ranking, TU Darmstadt is the leading university in Europe for cryptography, IT security, and software engineering. For artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, computer vision, and computational linguistics, it ranks second in Europe and first in Germany. It is among the top 10 universities in Europe in all computer science fields.
In the 2018 university ranking by the German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche, TU Darmstadt was named the best university for business informatics. It ranked 3rd for industrial engineering and 4th for mechanical engineering and electrical engineering.
The Research Ranking of the Association for Information Systems placed TU Darmstadt 16th worldwide for business informatics. It was 3rd in Europe and 1st in Germany.
According to the Stepstone salary report for graduates 2017, TU Darmstadt graduates earn the highest salaries in engineering and information technology in Germany.
In the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2019, TU Darmstadt ranked 3rd in Germany, 22nd in Europe, and 78th globally.
Reuters also named TU Darmstadt among Europe's most innovative universities in 2019.
Notable People from TU Darmstadt
Nobel Prize Winners
Here are some Nobel Prize winners who studied, taught, or researched at TU Darmstadt:
- Peter Grünberg, physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics (2007)
- Horst Ludwig Störmer, physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics (1988)
- Gerhard Herzberg, chemist, physicist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1971)
- Hermann Staudinger, chemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1953)
Others who taught through special lectureships:
- Frances H. Arnold, chemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry (2018)
- Harold Kroto, chemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1996)
- Jean-Marie Lehn, chemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1987)
- Manfred Eigen, chemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1967)
Other Nobel laureates connected to the university:
- Gerhard Ertl, chemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry (2007)
- K. Alex Müller, physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics (1987)
- Karl Ziegler, chemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1963)
- Otto Hahn, chemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1944)
- Carl Bosch, chemist, engineer and Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1931)
- Richard Willstätter, chemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1915)
Business Leaders
- John Tu, founder of Kingston Technology and a billionaire
- Vikram Lal, founder of Eicher Motors and a billionaire
- Peter Schnell, founder of Software AG
- Enis Ersü, founder of ISRA VISION AG
- Péter Horváth, founder of Horváth & Partners
- Detlev Riesner, founder of QIAGEN
- Hans Dieter Pötsch, Chairman of the Board of Management and Chairman of the supervisory board of Porsche SE
- Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG
- Christoph Franz, Chairman of Hoffmann-La Roche AG
- Carsten Kratz, Managing Director & Senior Partner of the Boston Consulting Group
- Marcus Kuhnert, Member of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer of Merck
- Kai Beckmann, Member of the Executive Board & CEO Performance Materials of Merck
- Tobias Meyer, Member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Post AG
- Nicolai Setzer, Member of the Executive Board of Continental AG
- Werner Steinmüller, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Bank
- Wolfgang Bernhard, former member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG
- Hans Demant, former Chairman of Adam Opel GmbH
- Karl-Friedrich Rausch, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Bahn AG
- Bert Rürup, former Chairman of the German Council of Economic Experts
- Udo Steffens, former President and CEO Frankfurt School of Finance & Management
- Klaus-Dieter Vöhringer, former CEO of DaimlerChrysler AG
- Andreas Georgi, former Member of the Board of Management of Dresdner Bank AG
- Walter Siepmann, industrialist and majority owner of Siepmann
Historical Figures
- Chaim Weizmann, the first President of Israel
- Karl Plagge, recognized for helping people during a difficult time
- Jovanka Bončić-Katerinić, the first woman to get an engineering degree in Germany
- Günter Behnisch, architect of the Olympiastadion (Munich)
- Edmund Collein, East German architect and town planner
- Wolfgang Rösch, vicar general of the Diocese of Limburg
- Franz-Josef Kemper, Olympic medalist
- Gerhard Hennige, Olympic medalist
- Josef Ganz, automotive engineer and a key figure in the original "Volkswagen" design
Scientists and Researchers
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- Marc Alexa, computer scientist and winner of the 2003 Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Preis
- Harald Rose, physicist and laureate of the Wolf Prize in Physics (2011)
- Maximilian Haider, physicist and laureate of the Wolf Prize in Physics (2011)
- Peter Grünberg, physicist and laureate of the Wolf Prize in Physics (2007)
- Georg Cantor, who created set theory
- Ernst Schröder, mathematician known for his work on the algebra of logic
- Lothar Collatz, mathematician known for the unsolved 3x + 1 problem
- William Prager, mathematician known for Drucker–Prager yield criterion
- Karl Hessenberg, known for the Hessenberg matrix
- Erwin Kreyszig, applied mathematician and author of the famous textbook "Advanced Engineering Mathematics"
- Carl Adam Petri, mathematician and inventor of the Petri nets
- Sigurd Hofmann, physicist and discoverer of the chemical elements darmstadtium (Ds, atomic number 110), roentgenium (Rg, 111), and copernicium (Cn, 112)
- Peter Armbruster, physicist and discoverer of elements 107 to 112
- Hans Busch, a pioneer in electron optics and laid the basis for the electron microscope
- Paolo Giubellino, Scientific Managing Director of the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research
- Wolfgang Bibel, one of the founders of artificial intelligence research in Germany and Europe
- Ottmar Edenhofer, lead author of reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which won the Nobel Peace Prize (2007)
- Mohan Munasinghe, vice-chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which won the Nobel Peace Prize (2007)
- Andreas Dreizler, mechanical engineer and Leibniz Prize laureate (2014)
- Rainer Waser, electrical engineer and Leibniz Prize laureate (2014)
- Lutz Raphael, historian and Leibniz Prize laureate (2013)
- Jürgen Eckert, engineer and Leibniz Prize laureate (2009)
- Jürgen Rödel, material scientist and Leibniz Prize laureate (2009)
- Johannes Buchmann, computer scientist, mathematician and Leibniz Prize laureate (1993)
- Randolf Menzel, zoologist and Leibniz Prize laureate (1991)
- Thomas Weiland, physicist and Leibniz Prize laureate (1988)
- Wolfram Saenger, biochemist and Leibniz Prize laureate (1988)
- Bernd Giese, chemist and Leibniz Prize laureate (1987)
- Frank Steglich, physicist and Leibniz Prize laureate (1986)
- Eric Bodden, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Preis laureate (2014)
- Stefan Roth, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Preis laureate (2012)
- Christina Thiele, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Preis laureate (2010)
- Torsten Granzow, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Preis laureate (2008)
- Nicole Deitelhoff, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Preis laureate (2008)
- Carsten Bolm, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Preis laureate (1991)
- Alexandre Obertelli, Alexander von Humboldt Professorship (2019)
- Johann Dietrich Wörner, Director General of the European Space Agency
- Kurt H. Debus, rocket scientist and first Kennedy Space Center director
- Robert Piloty, pioneer of computer engineering and a founder of computer science courses in Germany
- Peter Mertens, one of the founders of business informatics courses in Germany
- Marc Baldus, physicist and professor of structural biology
- Hanns-Peter Boehm, chemist and a pioneer of graphene research
- Sabine Brunswicker, professor for digital innovation and founder of the Research Center for Open Digital Innovation
- Friedrich Dessauer, pioneer of X-ray technology
- Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky, inventor of the three-phase electrical motor
- José Luis Encarnação, inventor of the Graphical Kernel System
- Paul Friedländer, chemist
- Kurt Hohenemser, aerospace engineer and pioneer in helicopter design
- Karl Küpfmüller, electrical engineer
- El Lissitzky, architect and designer
- Ernst May, architect and city planner of New Frankfurt
- Ernst Neufert, architect
- Gustav Niemann, mechanical engineer
- Fritz von Opel rocket pioneer
- Frank Schimmelfennig, political scientist
- Bernhard Schlink, former judge and writer (wrote "The Reader")
- Ernst Schröder, mathematician
- Gerhard M. Sessler, inventor of the electret microphone
- Thomas Sieverts, architect and urban planner
- Rudolf Wille, mathematician
- Hermann Zapf, typeface designer (created Palatino, Optima, Zapfino)
- Eduard Zintl, chemist and discoverer of the Zintl phase
See also
In Spanish: Universidad Técnica de Darmstadt para niños
- University and State Library Darmstadt
