Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Vietor studied mechanical engineering at the University of Siegen and subsequently did his doctorate at the Institute of Mechanics and Control Engineering of the University of Siegen in the area of design and structural optimization of brittle material. From 1994 to 2009 he worked at Ford and, among other positions, headed the vehicle concepts department at Ford-Werke GmbH, Cologne, as well as the development department at Ford Motor Co. England. In 2009 he became Professor and director of the Institute for Engineering Design at the Technische Universität Braunschweig. Since 2013 Prof. Vietor is Board Member of the ForschungsCampus “Open Hybrid Lab Factory e.V.” and since 2017 Chief Executive Officer of the Automotive Research Centre Niedersachsen (NFF).