Herbert Schmidt
was born in 1936 in Goslar/Niedersachsen. After his high school graduation in 1956 and his civil engineering diploma graduation at TU Braunschweig in 1962, he worked three years as a bridge design engineer at the Gustavsburg constructional steelwork plant of the company MAN. Five years as a scientific assistant for steel structures at the Civil Engineering Department of TU Braunschweig followed, which were rounded-off with obtaining a doctor’s degree (Dr.-Ing.). As a chief engineer he then established and supervised the research operations in the newly founded Institute for Steel Structures of TH Braunschweig (head: Prof. R. Barbré, later on Prof. J. Scheer). In the years 1974/75 he stayed for 11 months as a visiting research fellow at Lehigh University in Bethlehem/USA.

At the end of 1977, H. Schmidt was appointed to a C3-professorship at the University of Stuttgart. There, he headed in the Otto-Graf-Institute (FMPA Baden-Württemberg) the construction engineering division, until in 1981 he was appointed to the newly established C4-professorship for steel structures at the University of Essen.

Two decades of dedicated and productive teaching and research activities followed in Essen. Under the guidance of Prof. Schmidt, 16 doctoral theses and a great number of publications and conference papers were produced (publication list IML UniDuE). Many of the results being worked out in Essen found their way into engineering handbooks, recommendations and standards. H. Schmidt contributed significantly to the development of the series of standards DIN 18800. In 1990 and 1998 he stayed as a guest professor at Australian universities. His scientific achievements were appreciated by appointing him to honorary positions in many German and European panels and committees, amongst others the expert committees for metal and composite structures at the German Institute for Construction Technology (DIBt) in Berlin, the German Scientific Board for Steel Structures (DASt), and the working group on shell stability of the European Convention for Constructional Steelwork (ECCS) (as their long-time chairman).

Since 2001, Herbert Schmidt is officially retired. After his legal approval as a proof engineer for structural steel design has ex-pired in 2004, he addresses himself more intensively to his role as a scientifically consulting senior partner in the engineering consultants partnership PSP that he founded in 1995 together with Ufuk Kocabiyik and Peter Swadlo. Apart from this, he writes technical papers and books (e.g. the Beuth Commentary „Execution of Steel Structures“ as co-author in charge), gives lectures and is in certain demand as a forensic engineering expert.

Ufuk Kocabiyik
was born in 1955 in Istanbul and came in 1968 with his parents to Germany. After an apprenticeship as a draftsman in an architect’s office in Mülheim/Ruhr and the acquirement of an advanced technical college entrance qualification he studied civil engineering (major: construction engineering) at the University of Essen. During his studies he worked as a freelancer with several companies, amongst others with the constructional steelwork company Hein, Lehmann und Co., Düsseldorf, in their bridge division.

After his diploma graduation in 1986, U. Kocabiyik went to the constructional steelwork company Thyssen Engineering GmbH in Dortmund. They put him in charge of construction management tasks at the site of the new Galata bridge in Istanbul. In 1990, he went back to Essen University where he became a scientific assistant for steel structures at the Civil Engineering Department (with Prof. Schmidt). Apart from his work with students, which he pursued with dedication, he contributed to several research projects, expertise reports, feasibility studies and structural design checking and control activities for metal and steel structures.

U. Kocabiyik has been a qualified welding engineer (SFI/EWE) since 1994 and a consulting engineer (member No. 101521 of the Chamber of Engineers NRW) since 1995. He founded in 1995, together with Herbert Schmidt and Peter Swadlo, the engineering consultants partnership Prof. Schmidt & Partner GbR (PSP) with whom he worked half-time at the beginning and full-time from 1999 on as one of the two managing partners. Within the PSP-team his emphasis – besides routine projects in structural design – is on tasks in construction and/or fabrication supervision and on any type of technical controlling in all areas of constructional steelwork including welding techniques.

Peter Swadlo
was born in 1956 in Zabrze (Hindenburg/OS-Poland) and relocated in 1969 with his parents to Germany. After high school graduation and military duty, he studied civil engineering (major: construction engineering) at the University of Essen.

After his diploma graduation in 1986, P. Swadlo worked three years as a structural design engineer with a middle-class company for crane and materials handling technology in the Lower Rhine district. In 1990, he went back to Essen University where he became a scientific assistant for steel structures at the Civil Engineering Department (with Prof. Schmidt). There - apart from his work with students - he contributed to several research projects, expertise reports, feasibility studies and structural design checking and control activities for metal and steel structures. A focus point of his scientific work was the special area of shell stability. Later-on (in 2001) he obtained a doctor’s degree (Dr.-Ing.) for his work in this area.

P. Swadlo has been a qualified welding engineer (SFI/EWE) since 1994 and a consulting engineer (member No. 101518 of the Chamber of Engineers NRW) since 1995. He founded in 1995, together with Herbert Schmidt and Ufuk Kocabiyik, the engineering consultants partnership Prof. Schmidt & Partner GbR (PSP) with whom he worked half-time at the beginning and full-time from 1999 on as one of the two managing partners. Within the PSP-team his emphasis – besides routine projects in structural design and construction supervision – is on special tasks in the numerical analysis (FEM) of complex structural systems and in the development of innovative special structures.