“It’s really fun,” enthuses Annette Mütze when she talks about her research work. Specifically, she is talking about the new special research programme Computational Electric Machine Laboratory – CREATOR, in which TU Graz is working together with TU Darmstadt to improve electrical machines through computer simulations. Mütze is the spokesperson on the Austrian side, but also knows the German partners very well. The 48-year-old did her doctorate and research at TU Darmstadt before her further professional stations took her to the USA and England.
in 2010, Mütze followed the call to TU Graz, where she holds the Professorship of Electric Drives and Machines and heads the institute of the same name. Her field of research has continued to grow in importance since then: “The climate crisis has made electric drives more present.” In April 2016, the CD Laboratory for Brushless drives for pump and fan applications also began work under Mütze’s leadership, and six and a half years later it is nearing the end of its term. “The results of our research are already reflected in the products of our corporate partner. The drives are more efficient, more reliable, quieter and can be manufactured here in Austria at a good price,” says Mütze summing up positively.
Annette Mütze has been Chairwoman of the Senate – one of the three governing bodies of the University – since 1 October. The central question here is: Where is TU Graz going? “Hybrid teaching and the entrepreneurial university are just two current examples we’ll be occupied with in the Senate in the coming years.” For the first time in the history of TU Graz, all four members of the Senate chairship team are women. “More diversity – in the sense of diversity of experience – is needed at TU Graz,” says a convinced Mütze. “Diverse groups have a larger pool of tools to find solutions to a problem. But that doesn’t mean promoting diversity just for the sake of it.”
In her free time, Mütze likes to be outdoors, enjoys walks and sometimes swings golf clubs. With the two children (6 and 9 years old), excursions are often on the agenda, for example to the zoo. Mütze always values living consciously in the moment: “With each passing year, I make more focused use of my time, whether it’s with the kids or in the office.”
