The American General Consul Norman Thatcher Scharpf visited KIT on April 20, 2023, to get an insight into the research activities and to discuss the cooperations between KIT and American research institutions. He was accompanied on his visit by his wife, Donna, as well as his cultural representative, Annie Buenker.
The visit started with a guided tour of the Humanoid High Performance Technologies (H²T) Laboratory and the Interactive Systems Laboratory, where Mr. Scharpf had personal talks with Prof. Dr. Tamim Asfour and Prof. Dr. Alex Waibel, who informed him about recent research activities and innovations in their laboratories. A special highlight was the encounter with ARMAR-6, a humanoid assistance robot developed at KIT. In the further course of the visit, General Consul Scharpf met various KIT scientists and exchanged views with them on their experiences in the USA. Possibilities for deepening cooperation and exchange programs between KIT and U.S. institutions were also discussed.
Finally, Vice President Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth welcomed Mr. Scharpf and held a detailed discussion on further perspectives of transatlantic research cooperation. In particular, potential cooperations and joint projects between KIT and institutions in the USA were in the focus. The suggestion to establish a German-American funding program between funding organizations in Germany and the USA was also discussed, through which bilateral cooperation projects could be funded. In addition, the challenges of issuing VISAs to international students and researchers of KIT for stays in the USA were addressed.
General Consul Scharpf's visit to KIT thus strengthens the existing transatlantic relationship and opens up new opportunities for future scientific cooperation between the two countries.