History of IWW
The development of the institute
Since the RWTH Aachen University's founding in 1870, Prof. Otto Intze lectured hydraulic engineering in flood protection, water power and dam construction. In 1896, the first chair for hydraulic engineering was established by Prof. Nikolaus Holz. He built an experimental hall with a floor space of 170 square metre at the end of the 1920s and was succeeded by Prof. Alfred Buntru in 1936, who was more politically than scientifically engaged. From the beginning of the Second World War up to the reinstatement of Alfred Buntru in 1951, the chair was vacant.
From the first to the current hydraulic laboratory
In 1955, a new hydraulic laboratory of 900 square metre was built in the Kreuzherrenstrasse in Aachen thanks to the commitment of Alfred Buntru. Alfred Buntru was succeeded by Wilhelm Borkenstein in 1958, who focused on planning and construction of hydro power plants and dams. He renamed the chair in Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management in 1960. His successors were Gerhard Rouvé, Jürgen Köngeter and Holger Schüttrumpf .The laboratory in the Kreuzherrenstrasse formed the core of the institute until 2013, when the institute moved into a new building. This new building houses the institute and all its employees as well as the laboratory of 2,200 square metre in the Mies-van-der-Rohe-Strasse in Aachen.