/ 4 Dr. Fischer, the “Engine & Environment” conference celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. When did the event first catch your eye? That was back in 2000. At the time, this particular AVL conference asked a question that was of great interest to me – whether tomorrow’s engine would be the “soul” of the car or simply a subsystem. One of the main reasons for my attendance was the interesting selection of speakers, Dr. Martin Winterkorn among them. In 2002, when I was a member of the Executive Management Board of LuK, I was first invited to give a presentation at this AVL conference, and I was certainly pleased with the invitation. Dr. Robert Fischer, chairman of the “Engine & Environment” conferences since 2004 “Anticipate trends early and study them from all angles“ An interview with Dr. Robert Fischer, chairman of the “Engine & Environment” conference and Executive Vice President, Enginering and Technology Powertrain Systems. When did you take on the role of conference chair? In January 2004, I took up the position as Executive Vice President Engineering and Technology Powertrain Systems. As the “Engine & Environment” conference holds a key position among the conferences organized by AVL, CEO Prof. Helmut List, who first initiated the event 25 years ago and still maintains strong links with it, appointed me as conference chair, a position I have kept to this day. How would you describe the character of the “Engine & Environment” conference? What makes it different from other, comparable events? Let me start by saying that this “different” character is absolutely intentional – “Engine & Environment” clearly differs even from other AVL conferences, where a single subject is discussed – development methodology, combustion diagnostics etc. – that always remains the same. At “Engine & Environment”, however, we discuss a different key topic each year that anticipates future trends, and we try to represent this topic as comprehensively as possible. Naturally, this also involves our customers’ perspective – OEMs and tier 1 suppliers – as well as the political, scientific and market research-related points of view. This truly interdisciplinary study of a single topic is an outstanding characteristic of our conference. Interview
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