Professor Klaus Vajen is director of the Institute of Thermal Engineering at the University of Kassel, Germany, where he holds the chair of Solar- and Systems Engineering, and furthermore distinguished professor of the Technical University of Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek. He holds a PhD in applied physics and is (co-)author of 300+ publications about (solar) thermal engineering, university education and energy policy. He is founder and director of the MSc-programme “Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency” at the University of Kassel, as well as founder and head of the council “University Educations on Renewable Energies” with 120+ professors from German speaking countries. He developed and coordinates the Europe-wide PhD-education on solar thermal technology, together with Professor U. Jordan.
Klaus was member of the ISES Board of Directors from 2003-2011 and is a member again since 2018. He was Vice-president of ISES 2006-2007, founder of Young ISES (together with J. McIntosh) and Chair of the Solar World Congress 2011 in Kassel.