Michael Roth (cyberneticist) explained

Michael Roth
Birth Date:18 June 1936
Birth Place:Lomnička, Czechoslovakia
Death Place:Ilmenau, Germany
Nationality:German
Occupation:Engineer and Professor for Technical Cybernetics and computer engineering

Michael Roth (18 June 1936 – 23 July 2019)[1] was a German engineer and professor of automation, specializing in microprocessor technology, computer science and sociology as well as philosophy of science. He was one of the pioneers in the area of computer engineering in Germany.

Life

Roth was born in Lomnička, and originally completed his vocational training as a mechanic for agricultural machinery and as a programmer. He started his university studies in 1957 at the then Hochschule fuer Elektrotechnik Ilmenau in electrical engineering, with a specialization in control engineering under Karl Reinisch. He received his academic degree as a Diplom-Ingenieur (Dipl.-Ing.) in 1963. After that, he worked at the institute for computer engineering ("maschinelle Rechentechnik") as a scientific assistant. He successfully completed this work in 1967 earning a Doctorate degree as a Doktoringenieur (Dr.-Ing.). His dissertation was in the domain of computer engineering, focusing on the design of hybrid computers. This constituted an essential foundation for his later research. Subsequently, he finished additional studies at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute in 1967/68.

Roth was appointed associate professor at the TH Ilmenau in 1970, in the department of Technical and Biomedical Cybernetics ("Technische und Biomedizinische Kybernetik", TBK, Director: Karl Reinisch). In cooperation with expert committees from the Chamber of Technology ("Kammer der Technik", KdT, the organization of engineers, technicians, and researchers of the GDR) and the electronics industry of Thuringia, he developed the new special field of microcomputer technology, which he also introduced as an independent subject, publishing specialized reference books in several editions.

Roth stimulated the launch of this technology not only through his research and development work, but also through his involvement in continuous education for this industrial technology as well as through the publication of specialized books. As a researcher, he focused on questions concerning the development of components and tools for intelligent automation systems.

In 1978, he was appointed Professor for Automation and Technical Cybernetics ("Automatik und Technische Kybernetik") at the TH Ilmenau. This appointment spoke highly of his knowledge and his wealth of experience. His lectures and his textbooks extended the training of engineers with degrees in microprocessor technology – at the time, microprocessor technology was a rare specialization in the German-speaking area.

His cooperation with other professors – one of them being in the data centre with its director, Reinhold Schönefeld[2] – led to extensive industry-level research and internship opportunities in microprocessor technology with the TH Ilmenau. These opportunities were considered unique when compared to other university facilities in the German-speaking area. Roth thus contributed to establishing research and development at the department of Technical and Biomedical Cybernetics, and making it thrive. In parallel, he worked on the technology transfer to the surrounding computer businesses.

During his professional activities, Roth developed various microcontroller applications and implementations. Through this, he gained experience with programming languages, the usage of the accompanying development tools as well as the hardware and software components. Systems for visualization were used to efficiently communicate between man and machine. Further work on real-life applications and objects for demonstration purposes extended his knowledge and experience in the area of programming. He also gained a sound skill level in the area of data communication and related subdomains.

By no means had Roth ever considered this field as being technologically finalized. As such, he continuously worked in close contact with industry and research partners to scientifically advance future development. Through his committee work in the Informatics Society of the GDR and specific publications of books and magazines, he contributed to an increased appreciation of the new field of microprocessor technology in East Germany.

Furthermore, since his early years, Roth had been interested in a higher-level view of the evolution of science. In 1986, he completed his Habilitation at the TU Dresden in the field of the philosophy of science.

Scientific roles

Roth started as the research area lead of the aforementioned department TBK; he then became its director. On the basis of his specialized research work, he became a co-founder of the specialized studies „Computer Engineering“. In addition to that, he was the founder of the postgraduate degree of an engineer with a specialization „Microprocessor technology“.

Roth was the founder and editor of the magazine „Mikroprozessortechnik“ at the East German publishing company Verlag Technik Berlin. In an evening talk at a technical committee conference of the Chamber of Technology (KdT) in Angelroda in April 1982, he described the tedious processes for founding this magazine under the conditions in the GDR: For 15 years he made efforts until a small number of copies of „Mikroprozessortechnik“ were allowed to be released. It was forbidden to use the word „Informatik“, as Günter Mittag,a member of the Politbüro of the SED considered this a term of West German ideology. The argument of a limited quota of paper available to the publisher had to be overcome, as well as the criticism that the publishing company VEB Verlag Technik had not published a new magazine for 28 years.

His work as co-founder of the magazine Ethics and Social Sciences ("Ethik und Sozialwissenschaften", a forum for a culture of deliberation) at the West German publishing company Westdeutscher Verlag illustrates his ability for unconventional thinking and his interest in questions concerning the future.[3]

For many years, Roth was the chair of the Thuringia subdivision of the Verband Hochschule und Wissenschaft (Association for Higher Education and Science, VHW) in the German Civil Service Federation, as well as a member of the federal board of the VHW in Bonn (chair at the time: Reinhard Kuhnert). This professional association of professors, university lecturers and scientific assistants at universities and institutes of higher education was founded in November 1990 in Thuringia to engage employees and civil servants, where the VHW as part of the German Civil Service Federation also has the right of hearing in legislative procedures and the collective bargaining law.[4]

Roth contributed as an expert to the advisory panel „Delphi-Prognose“ of the Fraunhofer Society.

Fields

Michael Roth worked in a wide variety of fields:

Roth gave numerous lectures about his research results at scientific conferences and events, whose realization he partially encouraged and organized himself. His scientific publications at the same time reflect his teamwork and consist of more than 100 pieces of work, including several books with up to 5 editions. In parallel, he participated in various reports, providing expert opinion.

Bibliography (selection)

Literature

References

  1. Web site: Nachruf für Papa.
  2. Reinhold Schönefeld, Werner Liebich u. a.: Jubiläum: 30 Jahre Rechenzentrum und Informatik an der TH Ilmenau (Festkolloquium am 29. Nov. 1991). In: Ilmenauer Hochschulblatt. Zeitung der Technischen Hochschule Ilmenau, Jg. 34/16/1991.
  3. Michael Roth: Pro Zukunft. Internationale Bibliothek für Zukunftsfragen – Robert-Jungk-Stiftung. In: Ilmenauer Uni-Nachrichten 36/7/1993, S. 7.
  4. Michael Roth: vhw-informationen: Schwerpunktthemen des Interessen- und Berufsverbandes. In: Ilmenauer Uni-Nachrichten 36/3/1993, S. 7.

External links

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