Europump Family Mourns the Loss of a Great Friend
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Prof. Bernd Stoffel, who passed away on 8th June 2021. All those who had the pleasure of knowing him, both personally and professionally, will mourn his passing.
As a student and then post-graduate at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, he was actively involved in pre-competitive research as a project worker during the founding phase of the VDMA’s Pumps Research Fund. In 1977 he switched from science to industry, joining KSB where he held several positions and management tasks in the key area of research and development. With his keen focus on research, he never lost contact with the VDMA, or indeed the wider Europump community.
In 1984, he accepted an invitation to join the Technical University of Darmstadt, where he took over the department of Hydraulic Machines and Systems. With the merging of several faculties in 1993, the department of ‘Turbomachinery and Fluid Drives’ was created, which Prof. Stoffel headed until his retirement in 2006.
Prof. Stoffel remained an enthusiastic scientist and researcher, finding answers to essential pump design questions through his contribution to numerous research projects. Many of the central findings of the topics he studied, such as cavitation or achievable efficiencies in centrifugal pumps, are linked directly to the performance of the European pump industry. As a central figure within of the research landscape in the field of fluid machinery, Prof. Stoffel constantly evolved his role at the TU Darmstadt, sought out new topics and gained insights that helped him to achieve the highest recognition not only in Germany, but also in Europe and across the world.
The pump industry owes Prof. Stoffel huge gratitude for some of the essential standards to which pump manufacturers worldwide follow today. ISO 9906, a standard conceived more than 20 years ago, today still provides the basis for performance testing of pumps after a revision in 2012.
On behalf of the whole Europump community, our sincere and heartfelt sympathy goes to his wife, his children, and his grandchildren, at this most difficult of times. We will always remember him with fondness, gratitude, and deep appreciation.
Should you require any further information on this terribly sad news, please email Pierre Lucas at secgen@europump.org
