After a long and serious illness, our esteemed colleague passed away on Monday, January 2, 2015.

Dr. Kämpke, who previously worked at RWTH Aachen and for an extended period at the University of Passau, came to Ulm together with the FAW/n Director F. J. Radermacher. Dr. Kämpke played a major role in shaping the development and work of the Research Institute for Applied Knowledge Processing (FAW) from 1987 to 2004, and later of FAW/n from 2004 onward, as a senior scientist. With his broad background in mathematics (habilitation in mathematics at the University of Ulm in 1992), his interdisciplinary scientific education, and his excellent sense for practical applications, he made numerous significant contributions over the years.

At FAW/n, he was centrally involved in analyses concerning the social balance of societies, the mathematics of Lorenz curves, the modeling of the German energy system, and the analytical groundwork for the work of the Club of Rome. His research particularly addressed questions about the future development of humanity in light of global trends in population, innovation, and sustainable development.

Thomas Kämpke was a trusted advisor to many thanks to his reliability, scientific creativity, and consistently kind and thoughtful manner. At the University of Ulm, he served for many years as a Privatdozent (lecturer), mentoring and inspiring numerous students in both teaching and research. It is deeply painful that Thomas Kämpke has left us – and this world – far too soon. We will miss him greatly and cherish his memory with profound gratitude for the time we were privileged to share with him.

Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to his sister, Eva Kämpke.

The obituaries from InMach and FAW/n, published in the Südwest Presse on January 10, 2015, as well as the condolence card from his sister, Eva Kämpke, are available for viewing.

Image source: congerdesign (Pixabay)