New impulses for laser research: Change in the board of directors of the Laser Zentrum Hannover

New additions to the LZH board of directors: Lena Bennefeld succeeds Klaus Ulbrich on the executive board. Professor Dr. Uwe Morgner takes over from Professor Dr.-Ing. Ludger Overmeyer on the executive board.

"Lena Bennefeld is an asset to the LZH management team," says Dr. Meyer-Kobbe, chairman of the LZH supervisory board. "She has not only been instrumental in raising awareness of the institute's diverse research fields, from Additive Manufacturing to quantum technology but has also made key contributions to the institute's digitalization." Lena Bennefeld has been employed at the LZH since 2012 and had headed the institute's communications since 2013. Katharina Hanske, who previously worked among others at the business development agency in the Hanover region and the research environment, will succeed her as head of the communications department.

Executive board thanks Klaus Ulbrich for his commitment

The board expressly thanks the retiring commercial director Klaus Ulbrich. "Klaus Ulbrich has accompanied the LZH with dedication for more than 15 years and also maneuvered us through challenging times," said the current LZH board spokesman, Professor Stefan Kaierle. "With his dedication, he has been instrumental in creating the framework conditions for excellent research work at the institute."

As commercial managing director, Klaus Ulbrich cultivated and constantly expanded a distinctive network in politics, business, and associations.

Professor Uwe Morgner new on the LZH board of directors

Professor Overmeyer has decided to end his activity on the executive board for personal reasons. He will continue his scientific work in the field of laser technology and remain a member of the scientific directorate. The new chairman of the scientific directorate and thus also a new executive board member will be Professor Uwe Morgner. He is a Professor of experimental physics at the Institute of Quantum Optics at Leibniz University Hannover, where he leads the Ultrafast Laser Laboratory research group, and is also a spokesman for the PhoenixD Cluster of Excellence. "Uwe Morgner has been a member of the scientific directorate of the LZH for many years and therefore knows the institute well - we are very pleased that he will take over Ludger Overmeyer's position," said chairman of the supervisory board Dr. Clemens Meyer-Kobbe.

The executive board of the LZH now consists of the three managing directors Prof. Dr. Stefan Kaierle (Engineering), Dr. Dietmar Kracht (Natural Sciences), and Lena Bennefeld (Finance, Communication, and Transfer) as well as the chairmen of the scientific directorate and the industrial advisory board, Prof. Dr. Uwe Morgner and Dr. Volker Schmidt.

Contact: presse@lzh.de