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Clausthal University of Technology Honors Its Graduates with Diamond Diplomas
To mark the 60th anniversary of their graduation, the university's class of 1966 was honored.
Let’s start with a brief trip back in time to the year 1966: In sports, the legendary Wembley goal was scored; in music, Udo Jürgens won the Eurovision Song Contest with “Merci, Chérie”; and in technology, the German-American computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum developed the ELIZA program at MIT, an early precursor to today’s chatbots. A total of 22 graduates who earned their degrees at Clausthal University of Technology at that time have now—60 years later—been awarded the Diamond Diploma.
At the celebration in the Aula Academica, Prof. Thomas Ulrich, Vice President for International Affairs and Equal Opportunity, welcomed around 50 guests. Many of the honorees brought their partners or family members with them. One of them, Dr. Martin Schoell, had traveled all the way from Austria specifically for the ceremony. “It is a great honor for me to welcome you all here today,” said Prof. Ulrich. “In Clausthal, you not only acquired knowledge but also formed lifelong friendships and have always remained closely connected to your university.”
The university was also undergoing a transformation process
in the 1960s While Clausthal University of Technology is currently in the midst of a transformation process, a major upheaval also took place in the second half of the 1960s: Triggered by the crisis in the coal and steel industry, the Clausthal Mining Academy expanded its range of disciplines and by 1966 had already renamed itself the Technical University. Two years later, it was renamed the Technical University. Paul Steingröver from the AStA explained these developments in his welcoming remarks. On behalf of the Friends’ Association, which once again provided financial support for the event, Dr. Bernd Langanke extended warm congratulations.
As a 1966 graduate of Clausthal, Prof. Friedrich Wilhelm Wellmer, former president of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, delivered the class address. “Clausthal University of Technology is a university focused on natural resources,” said the 86-year-old. According to him, this presents the following challenge for the future: The university’s goal must be to keep pace as quickly as possible with the diversity of element combinations found today—for example, in microchips—using suitable recycling processes in order to achieve a circular economy. Prof. Johannes Buhl (Institute of Metallurgy) then explained the current state of research in metallurgy and materials forming in his keynote address.
Graduates reminisce about their college days
The subsequent presentation of diplomas was enriched by many graduates sharing memories from their student days: “Whenever a cluster of students could be seen in the cityscape, there was guaranteed to be a female student right in the middle of it!” Another graduate remarked: “In Clausthal, I learned how to develop mines, manage them, eventually close them down, and, at the very end, turn them into a museum.” The university’s flexibility was also praised: “I took my oral exam at a clinic in the southern Harz region. The professor was there for a health retreat and had summoned me to come there.”
The official ceremony was organized by Andrea Langhorst from Alumni Management. Graduates from the class of 1967 are asked to register early for the next ceremony in 2027.
More in the press releases: www.tu-clausthal.de/pressemitteilungen/pressemitteilungendetail/tu-clausthal-ehrt-ihre-absolventen-mit-diamant-diplomen
