The “DIDYMOS” research project is in its final phase. As part of this project, we organized a networking event at ZESS in Bochum on June 12, 2026. The day featured policy insights, in-depth technical discussions, engaging keynote speeches, and plenty of networking opportunities. We at TLB were also represented in the program with a presentation by Zuzan Azad. She addressed data collection, integration, and analysis in digital twins for existing tunnels.
Many thanks to all participants for the interesting insights into other projects, the engaging discussions, and the wonderful exchange of knowledge. A big thank you also goes to the organizers.
Am 13. Februar 2026 konnten die Studierenden im Rahmen der Bachelorveranstaltung "Baubetrieb und Bauverfahrenstechnik" den Ersatzneubau des NA-Komplexes der Ruhr-Universität Bochum besichtigen. Diese Besichtigung wurde ermöglicht durch die Züblin AG, Direktion NRW, Bereich Dortmund. Der Ersatzneubau umfasst die Ausführungsplanung und die schlüsselfertige Errichtung des NA-Komplexes inklusive der Außenanlagen.
In einer spannenden und äußerst informativen Präsentation stellten uns Herrn Dipl.-Ing. Dirk Stille und Herrn Yasin Boz zunächst das Projekt und die Besonderheiten der geplanten Räumlichkeiten (z.B. Hörsäle, Labore und Lüftungseinrichtungen) vor. Dabei wurden auch die verschiedenen Herausforderungen erläutert, die insbesondere aus den begrenzten Platzverhältnissen resultieren. Zur Vereinfachung der Koordination der Beteiligten wurde das Projekt mittels der BIM-Methode geplant.
Im Anschluss konnten wir uns die Baustelle ansehen. Herr Stille und Herr Boz wiesen auf weitere Besonderheiten hin, erklärten Bauvorgänge sowie aktuelle bzw. zukünftige Herausforderungen und stellten die folgenden Bauphasen vor. Dank der exzellenten Betreuung und der tiefen Einblicke in die Planung und die Ausführung vor Ort war die Exkursion ein voller Erfolg. Der Lehrstuhl für Tunnelbau, Leitungsbau und Baubetrieb bedankt sich an dieser Stelle herzlich bei der Züblin AG und den betreuenden Mitarbeitern vor Ort für die Möglichkeit dieser Baustellenexkursion!
Autorinnen: Judith Berns und Zuzan Azad (Ruhr-Universität Bochum)
As part of the elective module “Construction Process Engineering and Construction Management in Practice,” 54 students from RUB took part in the STUVA Conference 2025. The participants from the master's programs in Civil Engineering and Subsurface Engineering, together with the staff of @TLB, thus represented a large group of participants at the STUVA Conference!
The STUVA Conference is the most important event for tunnel and underground construction in Germany. The conference was accompanied by a comprehensive exhibition presenting new technologies, innovations, and groundbreaking projects. The students' participation was made possible by the cooperation between @STUVA and @RUB.
The students took the opportunity to learn about current developments in the field of tunnel construction and to make valuable contacts:
Anastasiia F. reports: “Attending the STUVA conference was an incredible experience! I could see how our studies come to life in real projects and build my first connections with industry experts. The conference has inspired me to develop my future career in the tunneling field.”
Nils R. adds: “For me, the STUVA conference was a real bonus because I was able to make a promising contact for my master's thesis in tunnel construction. It wasn't always easy to strike up conversations with companies, as many of them were mainly meeting old acquaintances, but the conversations that did take place were all the more valuable for that.”
Participating in the STUVA conference was a valuable experience for many of the students, one that will help them in their studies and professional careers. The large group's arrival and departure was also low-emission and unproblematic thanks to Deutsche Bahn.
The new SFB 1683 is in full swing. At the quarterly meeting on 18 and 19 September 2025, all sub-projects presented their initial research findings on the topic of ‘Methods of interaction for the modular reuse of existing load-bearing structures’. The TLB was also represented with two presentations by Anna-Lena Schürmann (picture) in two subprojects:
Subproject C01: Digital ecosystem for circular concrete elements
(Anna-Lena Schürmann and Nina Krautgartner)
Subproject C03: Dismantling strategies for existing concrete structures
(Anna-Lena Schürmann, Yehia Abdelazziz, Marwin Dollendorf)
Many thanks to all participants for the great insights into the other subprojects and the intensive discussions. And many thanks to the organisers for the great event!
Mr. Chang's doctoral examination took place on 13.03.2025.
The TLB team would like to congratulate Mr. Jiaqi Chang and wish him all the best for his future career as Dr. Chang.
On 7 February 2025, the Chair of Tunnelling, Pipeline Construction and Construction Management organised an excursion in cooperation with Sparkasse Bochum to the new construction of a complete building complex on Dr.-Ruer-Platz in Bochum. This project is being built on the former site of the traditional restaurant ‘Die Uhle’ and is intended to form a uniform complex with the existing neighbouring Sparkasse building. The aim is to enhance the cityscape. In addition to the students of the Construction Management and Construction Process Engineering I + II (BI20/UI12) module from the Bachelor's degree programmes in Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, some student assistants and doctoral students from the department also took part.
The participants met in front of the construction site and were warmly welcomed by Dipl.-Ing. Michael Allweins. The reception in front of the construction site was very friendly. All participants received a small welcome gift from Sparkasse Bochum. Mr Andreas Damsky from the structural engineering office Meyer Ingenieure Gesellschaft GmbH was also kindly available to answer questions about the project.
Together with Mr Allweins and Mr Damsky, the participants were given a tour of the entire construction site. The tour began with a walk around the building and finally took us inside. At each level, we were given a detailed explanation of the construction, the interior design and the future plans. For example, it was pointed out that a restaurant chain is to move into the ground floor, while the other floors are to be used as office levels.
The excursion lasted around two hours and provided plenty of time for questions from the students. Our questions were always answered very precisely, which made the excursion a very instructive experience for all participants. The Chair of Tunnelling, Pipeline Construction and Construction Management would like to take this opportunity to thank Sparkasse Bochum and the staff on site for making it possible to experience the new construction project at Dr.-Ruer-Platz at close quarters.
Civil engineering major Steven Gomes ’25 recently capped his ambitious Quinnipiac journey with a prestigious international internship at the Institute for Tunnelling and Construction Management at Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany.
“It’s the largest tunneling university in the world," said Gomes. "I worked alongside world-renowned people I’ve read about in my geotechnical class, which was surreal. Every day was a learning experience.”
Gomes undertook the three-month research internship through the DAAD German Academic Exchange Service RISE program. The scholarship program offers about 300 summer STEM research internships annually in Germany for undergraduate students from North America, Great Britain and Ireland.
Gomes had visited Germany in 2016 with his father and had always hoped he would return to study there.
“I’ve always considered Germany the apex of engineering and it’s always been a dream of mine to do engineering in Germany,” said Gomes.
He thanks Assistant Professor of Business Analytics & Information Systems Tan Gürpinar for introducing him to the opportunity to study in Germany through the DAAD RISE program.
The Ruhr University Bochum today awarded Mr Gerhard Wehrmeyer the title of Honorary Professor for his outstanding achievements in teaching and for his professional and scientific merits. The certificate was ceremoniously presented to him by the Dean of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Prof Dr Marc Wichern.
Mechanical tunnelling is a particular focus of research and teaching at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering. This area deals with interdisciplinary issues at the interface between civil engineering and mechanical engineering. Since 2018, Mr Wehrmeyer has held a teaching assignment for the course ‘Technologies in Mechanised Tunneling’ in the Master's programme. This course is attended by students on the Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering degree programmes and, for the past two years, the international Master's degree in Subsurface Engineering.
This adds another important element to the training in the field of underground construction, which contributes to the faculty's internationally recognised profile in the field of underground construction.
Mr Wehrmeyer is particularly qualified for this interdisciplinary teaching position due to his education and professional career. He first completed a degree in mechanical engineering and then obtained his doctorate at the Ruhr University in 2000 at the Chair of Construction Process Engineering, Tunnelling and Construction Operations under Prof. Maidl.
Since then, he has been an employee of Herrenknecht AG, the world's leading manufacturer of tunnelling technology, where he holds a responsible position in product management. He initiated and supervised a large number of research activities at Herrenknecht AG. The list of his research includes 49 projects in the period from 2000 to the present day. In connection with his research tasks and his teaching activities, he was also supervisor or co-supervisor of 41 theses.
For a senior engineer working in the field, he has an exceptionally extensive list of publications, including two specialist books that are internationally recognised standard works in the field of mechanised tunnelling: ‘Mechanised Shield Tunnelling’ and “Hardrock Tunnel Boring Machines”. He is also the author or co-author of a large number of journal and conference papers. In addition, he has given many specialised lectures at various institutions.
His activities also include voluntary committee work. He is a member of the renowned German Committee for Underground Construction (www.DAUB-ITA.de), a body that draws up important recommendations for tunnelling, which receive widespread international attention. He is also a member of the technical committees of the Association of German Machine and Plant Manufacturers on topics relating to mechanical tunnelling.
The Chair of Tunnelling, Pipeline Construction and Construction Management is proud and grateful to have Prof Dr Wehrmeyer, an internationally renowned expert in mechanised tunnelling, as a lecturer and now also as an honorary professor.
Bochum, June 11th 2024
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Markus Thewes
TLB
The Chair of Tunnelling, Pipeline Construction and Construction Management organised an excursion to the Bicycle XXL project in Gelsenkirchen on 9 February together with Goldbeck West GmbH. In addition to the students of the Construction Management and Construction Process Engineering I + II (BI20/UI12) module from the Bachelor's degree programmes in Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, some student assistants and doctoral students from the Chair also took part.
Before going to the actual construction site and thus to the different sections of this major project, the participants met in the office areas of the construction site facility to be greeted and welcomed by the guest organisers from Goldbeck West GmbH and to receive a detailed safety briefing for the construction site area.
The participants were then divided into two groups and alternated between listening to a presentation on the Goldbeck company and the Bicycle XXL project and visiting the construction site. During the presentation, Niklas Brixner (Project Manager) and Andreas Schmidt (Head of Project Management) introduced the company Goldbeck GmbH with its dynamic and innovative company history from a hall and steel construction company to one of Europe's leading companies in commercial construction with modern and innovative, systematic concepts in planning and execution. In addition, the Bicycle XXL project was presented, in which Goldbeck West GmbH acts as general contractor and is thus actively involved in all service phases 1-9, including construction and project management as well as all planning phases (structural design, system planning, sustainability planning, energy certificates, BIM planning and much more). However, Goldbeck's philosophy goes beyond the pure construction process. The building is seen as a living product that deserves attention not only in the design and construction phase, but also during ongoing operation. This holistic approach means that the focus is not only on the construction itself, but also on the long-term maintenance and management of the finished infrastructure and the building.
At the same time, the second subgroup had the opportunity to visit the various construction phases on the construction site under the guidance of Tim Brodowski (site manager) and Robin Thelen (TGA site manager) and thus gain practical insights into the construction process as well as comprehensive insights into the diverse fields of activity described in the lecture. The participants were thus able to observe the content of the Construction Operations and Construction Process Engineering module in practice on a real large-scale project. The successful excursion concluded with a cosy and delicious finale in the office areas of the construction site facility with the opportunity for a personal exchange about the project, company and career.
The Chair of Tunnelling, Pipeline Construction and Construction Management would like to thank Goldbeck West GmbH and the employees on site for the opportunity to visit the major Bicycle XXL project on site.
Author: J. Berns und C. Rhein (Ruhr Universität Bochum)
Ms Glab's doctoral examination took place on April the 4th 2023. The TLB team congratulates Mrs Kathrin Glab and wishes her all the best for the next phase as Dr.-Ing.
Jiaqi Chang joined our team as a guest researcher in December 2022.
About Jiaqi:
Jiaqi Chang is a PhD Student at the Tongji University.
Seine Arbeit bei uns am TLB:
This is where he begins his work as a research assistant. He is particularly looking forward to further exploring his areas of interest, learning lots of new things and improving his skills. Jiaqi is currently working on the posture and tunnel lining behaviour control research project. He is investigating this using AI, wireless sensor networks and the FEM method.
Ehsan Omari has been the newest research associate in the chair team since October 2022. We are very much looking forward to working with him.
About Ehsan:
Ehsan Omari is originally from Afghanistan, where he completed his master's degree in civil engineering at Sakarya University in Turkey.
His Work at the TLB:
He is now starting his work as a research assistant and doctoral student. He is particularly looking forward to further exploring his areas of interest, learning lots of new things and improving his skills.
Technische Betriebe Solingen is currently having an underground storage sewer built that will lead to a wastewater treatment plant. The Viehbach collector has a total length of 4.50 kilometres. The project is being carried out by the company Epping Rohrvortrieb GmbH & CO KG, based in Bocholt.
On 26 October 2022, a group of students from Ruhr University, led by the Chair of Tunnelling, Pipeline Construction and Construction Management, were able to visit the construction site for the third construction phase. The section of the third construction phase has a total length of 2.40 kilometres and is being built using full-face tunnelling with liquid support. The pipeline has an internal diameter of DN 1800 and is therefore accessible. The group was welcomed on site by the responsible site manager Dipl.-Ing. Boris Peirick and two fellow students from the RUB's Civil Engineering programme, Fabian Büning and Annika Wielens. Mr Peirick gave the students comprehensive information about the construction project, the machines used and the methods employed. Afterwards, all participants of the excursion were able to descend in two groups into one of the two shafts and inspect the pipeline. At the same time, the separation plant could be visited.
We would like to express our sincere thanks for the hospitality, the professional exchange and wish them continued success in the realisation of the project.
Author: Moritz Riedl (Ruhr Universität Bochum)
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Last update: Jul 01, 2026
