His Primary Concern: The User-Oriented Design of Human-Technology Systems
The university, and University President Prof. Dr. Gerd Strohmeier, bids farewell to retiring psychologist Prof. Dr. Josef Krems
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Prof. Dr. Gerd Strohmeier, President of Chemnitz University of Technology, sends off Prof. Dr. Josef Krems. Photo: Jacob Müller
After 24 years of teaching and research at Chemnitz University of Technology, Prof. Dr. Josef Krems, who led the Professorship of General Psychology and Occupational Psychology, has retired. On 7 October 2019, Chemnitz University of Technology President Prof. Dr. Gerd Strohmeier presented Krems with his retirement certificate.
Josef Krems studied psychology, philosophy and medicine at the University of Regensburg until 1980. He received his doctorate there in 1984, and his habilitation in 1990. He stayed on and worked at Regensburg in the area of academic advising, and later became a senior assistant, and then a lecturer. He had a research residency at the Computer Science Department of Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA), among others. He also took up visiting professorships at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio (USA) and the University of Potsdam. Since 1995, Krems has headed the Professorship for General Psychology and Occupational Psychology at Chemnitz University of Technology. Another visiting professorship opportunity took him to Ching-Keng University in Taiwan, China in 2006.
On the research side, Krems focused in particular on traffic psychology, electromobility, new media, abductive reasoning and decision making. In his research, he examined basic processes of human information processing (cognition, working memory, problem solving) in applicational contexts (distracted driving, critical range stress, web design, medical diagnostics).
Together with colleagues from the engineering sciences, Krems founded the Interdisciplinary Center for Driver Assistance Systems (I-FAS) at Chemnitz University of Technology in 2006. Krems led several junior research groups in Chemnitz (“fahrE”, “ECoMobility”) and was involved in the Usability Competence Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. He is a founding member of HUMANIST, a EU-sponsored Network of Excellence initiative that has been developing research activities across Europe since 2004 in the areas of transport and mobility.
Krems was involved in the introduction of the Psychology Diplom programme in 1998, the founding of the Institute of Psychology in 2000, and the establishment of the Sensorics and Cognitive Psychology degree programme in 2009. From 1998 to 2000, Krems was Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. From 2016 to 2019, he held this position at the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences as well.
Krems will continue his scientific work at Chemnitz University of Technology, and will lead the new research group for General and Occupational Psychology.
(Mario Steinebach / Translation: Jeffrey Karnitz)
Matthias Fejes
17.10.2019
