Prof. Dr. Ulrich Walter

Ulrich Walter, born in 1954, is a full professor for astronautics at the Technical University at Munich, Germany.

After studying physics at the University of Cologne, he spent a year at the U.S. research laboratory Argonne National Laboratories, Chicago, then a year as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. From there, he was appointed to the German Astronaut Team in 1987 and trained at the German Aerospace Center, DLR, in Cologne-Porz and at NASA's Space Center in Houston until his Shuttle Mission D-2, April 26 – May 6, 1993. In 1994, he moved to the German Remote Sensing Data Center of DLR in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich as project manager of the large-scale project "German Satellite Data Archive". In 1998, he moved to the IBM Development Laboratory in Böblingen as Program Manager, where he was responsible for the development and consulting of IBM software products as Project Manager and Lead Consultant.

From 2003 to 2025, he headed the Chair of Astronautics at the Technical University of Munich. As professor emeritus, he continues to teach and conduct research in the field of applied space technology and systems engineering. His focus is on artificial intelligence and real-time and service robotics, in particular robotics assistance for the elderly (geriatronics). He researches and teaches systems engineering, i.e., the empirical science of developing and optimizing complex products and processes in companies. As a trained project manager, he advises companies worldwide in this field, especially in the areas of quality and risk management, and consults companies in AI transformation in their work processes.