Fritz Hüttinger

Foundation

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Under the umbrella of the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung, the Fritz Hüttinger Stiftung promotes as a foundation the advancement of science and research, especially of innovative technologies in the field of electric energy, and works to strengthen community and foster civic involvement. The foundation was established by the daughter of Fritz Hüttinger, Gerda Ruf and her husband Fritz Ruf in 2006.

Photo: Thomas Kunz

About Fritz Hüttinger

Born on June 5, 1897 first completed an apprenticeship as an electrician. He began his studies of electrical engineering at the University of Engineering in Konstanz in 1919.

In 1921 he settled in Freiburg im Breisgau, where he founded an electrical appliance company. In 1925, he expanded the business, opening a factory for electronic medical devices. The first diathermic and surgical instrument went into mass production at the factory in 1926.

As early as 1936, "HÜTTINGER high-vacuum tube amplifier" for electronic medical devices went into production at the company's own glassblowing facility. After all of the buildings and facilities of the company were destroyed during an air raid in 1944, Fritz Hüttinger began rebuilding the company from 1946 on. The production of frequency generators and medium-frequency generators started.

His wife became managing partner of the company after he died in 1963.

Fritz Hüttinger, portrait photo black and white
Photo: Thomas Kunz

The Founders

In 2006 the daughter of Fritz Hüttinger Gerda Ruf and her husband Fritz Ruf decided to establish the Fitz Hüttinger Foundation in memory of their father and father-in-law.

The foundation is managed by the Berthold Leibinger Stiftung.

The foundations focus is on innovative technologies in the field of electric energy.

It also wants to strengthen community and foster civic involvement.

Fritz Hüttinger Professorship

In 2010, the Fritz Hüttinger Stiftung signed an endowment agreement with the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg to establish the Fritz Hüttinger Professorship. The foundation committed to supporting an endowed chair at the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) for ten years with annual funding of 100,000 euros. A new agreement was signed in 2020 to establish an endowed chair at the Institute for Sustainable Systems Engineering (INATECH).

INATECH

Established in 2020, the Fritz Hüttinger Professorship for Energy-Efficient High-Frequency Electronics at the Institute for Sustainable Systems Engineering (INATECH) focuses on the engineering aspects of the energy efficiency of microelectronic and nanoelectronic building blocks and circuits, especially those based on compound semiconductors. Dr. Rüdiger Quay from the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) of the University of Freiburg and the Fraunhofer Institute of Applied Solid State Physics (IAF) accepted the offer of the professorship.

IMTEK

In 2010, the professorship for microelectronics held by Professor Yiannos Manoli at the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) was renamed Fritz Hüttinger Professorship for Microelectronics. Undergraduate, graduate and PhD students at IMTEK benefit from the endowment through scholarships and academic awards that are presented to outstanding young scientists in the fields of electrical engineering and power electronics as well as through funding for internships and field trips.