E. R. Weber, © Fraunhofer ISE

Professor Eicke R. Weber stepped down from his position as director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in late 2016. He reportedly did so for age-related reasons, although a successor has not been named yet. Since 2006, Weber had been head of the Freiburg-based institute and professor of physics/solar energy at the University of Freiburg.

In his honor, the institute organized a farewell symposium about the Global Energy Transformation in the Freiburg Concert Hall on Nov. 11, 2016. High-profile speakers addressed the audience, American futurist Jeremy Rifkin paid tribute to Weber’s accomplishments in the energy industry by video message. He stressed Weber’s strong commitment – scientifically and politically – to the energy transformation and his vocal advocacy for solar research in Germany. During his tenure at the Fraunhofer ISE, the institute has doubled in size to the 1,100 staff it has today.

Weber, who …

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He was one of the driving forces behind the founding of the German energy storage association BVES (see New Location for Energy Storage Conference) and was elected president of the Association of European Renewable Energy Research Centers in Brussels in 2015.

Weber retired from his job as BVES president last March after he had asked to no longer be considered for the post. Thomas Speidel, managing director of Ads-Tec was …

Weber is likely to be teaching at a foreign university in the future, maybe again at California’s Berkeley.