Werner Gruner

Werner Gruner (1904–1995) was a small-arms designer, mechanical engineer, university teacher and was rector of the Dresden University of Technology from 1958 to 1961.

Life and work before 1945

Gruner was born on June 7, 1904, in the village Terpitzsch, then belonging to the municipality Zschadraß, which since January 1, 2011 is part of the town Colditz on the banks of the Zwickauer Mulde near its confluence with the Freiberger Mulde to form the Mulde 3.5 km north of the town.

His father taught in a Volksschule and he attended the Realgymnasium in Döbeln. when he became a technical designer for the Metall- und Lackwarenfabrik Johannes Großfuß (Metal and lacquerware factory Johannes Großfuß) in Döbeln. He died in Dresden and his grave is located in the cemetery Waldfriedhof Weißer Hirsch in the eastern borough of Loschwitz above the right bank of the Elbe.

Awards

Gruner received in 1940 and 1944 the War Merit Cross Second Class and the War Merit Cross First Class, respectively, and in 1944 the Dr. Fritz Todt-prize in silver.

In 1959 Gruner received the Patriotic Order of Merit, 1961 the National Prize of the GDR second class and in 1969 the Order of Banner of Labor. In 1972 he obtained the honorary degree Dr. Ing. h.c. from the College of Agriculture Engineering in Rostov-on-Don. In 1979 he was appointed Honorary Senator of the TU Dresden and in the same year received the Dr. h.c. from the Wilhelm Pieck University in Rostock.

Writings

Versuche über das maschinelle Sägen von Stein mit glattrandigen Stahlbändern und Quarzsand (Experiments on the automatic cutting of stone with smooth-edged steel bands and quartz sand), 1933 Zehn Jahre Deutsche Demokratische Republik, zehn Jahre Technische Hochschule Dresden: Festansprache (Ten years of German Democratic Republic, ten years Technical University Dresden: commencement address), 1959 Hochschule und Praxis: Hauptreferat anläßlich der gleichnamigen Tagung (University and practice: the keynote address on the occasion of the homonymous conference), 1960 Mechanisierung der Landwirtschaft: Maschinen und Geräte zur Bodenbearbeitung (Mechanization of agriculture: machinery and equipment for working the soil), Hochschule für Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaften, 1961 Maschinen und Geräte zur Bodenbearbeitung (Machinery and equipment for working the soil), 1961 Probleme der Mess-, Steuerungs-und Regelungstechnik in der Landwirtschaft (Problems of measuring, control and regulation technology in agriculture), 1966