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Date Announced: 13 Oct 2011
Leibniz University of Hanover professor set up LINOS Photonics prior to Qioptiq acquisition and is the co-founder Germany’s "Agenda in Optical Technologies for the 21st Century".
Göttingen, October 13, 2011 - Professor Gerd Litfin, member of the board of directors of Qioptiq, has been awarded the Cross of Merit, First Class, of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by Federal President Christian Wulff. The award marks the outstanding achievements of the founder and former board chairman of the LINOS Group on behalf of Germany as a center for science and business.
In addition, the honor expresses recognition and respect for his exemplary voluntary work in the social sphere and his extraordinary contribution to developing the next generation of scientists. The medal was presented on October 12, 2011 by Professor Annette Schavan, Federal Minister for Education and Research, at a ceremony in Berlin.
"Voluntary work specifically at the interface between science and business is important and it is an essential requirement of both entrepreneurs and scientists. I have always enjoyed my political consulting in particular and I am delighted that this work is being honored today“, said Litfin.
In 2004 Litfin had already been awarded the Cross of Merit with Ribbon by the Federal President for his entrepreneurial work and for establishing the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Göttingen and supporting it over many years.
LINOS: an important part of Qioptiq today
Litfin was chairman of the board of the LINOS Group until the end of 2006, the foundation stone for which he laid with a management buy-out in 1996. By taking over the companies Steeg & Reuter, Franke-Optik, Gsänger Optoelektronik and Rodenstock Präzisionsoptik, he built LINOS into one of theleading global photonics businesses.
In 2006, LINOS was taken over by the Qioptiq Group; Litfin moved to the board of directors and has been supporting the business and technological development of the company ever since with his wealth of experience and his scientific expertise.
David Marks, Qioptiq CEO, praised his achievements: "In setting up LINOS, Professor Litfin laid the foundation for an important part of Qioptiq today. We are still benefitting from his profound knowledge and we would like to thank him for his tireless commitment to the further development of our company."
A special commitment to science and technology
As a professor at the Leibniz University of Hanover, Litfin has made a crucial contribution to the development of optical technologies and he is regarded as one of the opinion leaders in the photonics industry in Germany. Litfin was co-founder of the initiative "Deutsche Agenda Optische Technologien für das 21. Jahrhundert" (“Germany’s Agenda in Optical Technologies for the 21st Century”), which set itself the goal of improving the innovative strength and competitiveness of companies in the field of optical technologies. He was also involved in the Photonics 21 platform under the Seventh Research Framework Program of the European Union.
The Hanover Laser Center, of which Litfin is one of the founding members, grew out of the Leibniz University of Hanover. In Göttingen he played a significant part in the founding of the current Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology at the University for Applied Sciences and Arts. Under his guidance, courses in Industrial Engineering, Precision Mechanical Engineering and Optical Engineering/Photonics were set up and have been providing Qioptiq and the other technology companies based in Lower Saxony with their next generation of highly-qualified staff ever since. In addition, Litfin has worked in an honorary capacity on numerous scientific bodies, such as the Max Planck Society, the German Research Foundation and the German Physics Association.
Source: Qioptiq
E-mail: via web site
Web Site: www.qioptiq.com
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