Our researchers are unique. Here they introduce themselves and show their very personal side behind the scientific work.
Jan Pfeifer:
"I - Jan Pfeifer - have been employed at the Chair for Product Creation since March 2020 and have been researching in the field of systems engineering as a research assistant since January 2023. I come from Wetten, a small village on the Dutch border. I moved to the beautiful city of Paderborn to start my degree in industrial engineering specialising in mechanical engineering.
My motivation as a scientist comes from my early enthusiasm for the universe and its connections. I am particularly fascinated by how we as humans can utilise and shape it in the form of technology. With my research, I want to contribute to the development of systems that can help us with current and future challenges such as energy scarcity, resource bottlenecks and climate change. I firmly believe that these challenges can be solved to a significant extent through technical innovations. In the Product Creation group, I have the opportunity to play my part in solving these challenges.
My work at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute involves the investigation and handling of emergent system behaviour that is difficult to predict and how this can be taken into account and used across projects. Results in this area of research can help to avoid undesirable developments and expensive changes to the finished product and thus reduce various forms of costs. This area of research is particularly exciting for me, as it is present in almost every development project and this type of uncertainty cannot be avoided. My research therefore concerns a current problem whose need for a solution will become even more relevant in the future.
In order to be able to work efficiently and in a focused manner, it is essential to have an appropriate physical and mental balance. In my free time, I enjoy being outdoors in nature. In my second home - Oberstdorf in the Oberallgäu - I regularly do winter sports and in summer I am out and about in the mountains both on my mountain bike and on foot. If the weather is not so good, you can find me playing guitar or drums or creating new dishes for friends and family in the kitchen."
