Prof. Irina Smirnova Remains Vice President for Research at TU Hamburg
Academic Senate Confirms Election and Approves Smirnova’s Third Term Until 2029
24.06.2026
Prof. Irina Smirnova has been officially re-elected as Vice President for Research at the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH). At the suggestion of the current TU President Prof. Andreas Timm-Giel, the members of the Academic Senate confirmed the head of the Institute of Thermal Separation Processes in office for another three years. Irina Smirnova thus begins her third term.
TUHH President Prof. Andreas Timm-Giel: “I am very pleased that Prof. Irina Smirnova is available for a third term as Vice President for Research. The confirmation of the election by the Academic Senate is a strong sign of trust — and at the same time recognition of her pivotal in the great successes of TU Hamburg in recent years. With scientific excellence, strategic foresight, exceptional commitment, and high implementation capability, she has decisively advanced research at TUHH. Successes such as securing the BlueMat Excellence Cluster, strengthening our scientific focal points, and the growing international visibility of TUHH clearly bear her signature. I very much look forward to continuing our successful collaboration.”
Enhanced visibility of TU Hamburg
As Vice President for Research, Irina Smirnova carries the strategic responsibility within the university board for the area of research. Regarding her re-election, she said: “The past years have impressively demonstrated what we can achieve together at TU Hamburg in research, transfer, and innovation. With the award of an Excellence Cluster, the establishment of new research alliances, the founding of innovative start-ups, and the successful communication of our research results within ‘Science made in Hamburg,’ we have reached important milestones and sustainably strengthened the visibility of our university. Now it is important to continue this momentum: through the successful further development of our Excellence Cluster, the implementation of the goals of STEP 2026–2031 within the framework of our Humboldt 4.0 concept, as well as the further expansion of TechCity Hamburg – particularly the research building. I am very pleased about the trust placed in me to shape this path together with many dedicated colleagues also in the coming three years as Vice President.”
Irina Smirnova took office as Vice President in 2020. She is co-spokesperson of BlueMat: Water-Driven Materials, the first Excellence Cluster at TU Hamburg. Since 2008, she has been Professor and Head of the Institute of Thermal Separation Processes at TU Hamburg. Her research focuses include aerogels, high-pressure technology, biorefinery, and the development of molecular thermodynamic methods.
Previously, the engineer was a guest researcher at Sogang University in South Korea and worked until 2008 as a group leader and postdoctoral researcher at the Thermodynamics and Thermal Separation Processes at the TU Berlin and at the Institute of Separation Science and Technology at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. In her scientific career, Smirnova has been awarded, among others, the DECHEMA Young Faculty Award, the Hamburg Teaching Award, and the Ralf Dahrendorf Prize.
Photo credit: TUHH/Bittcher
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