Professor Dr.-Ing. Dietrich Stein

Engineers around the globe are thankful for his dedication to the inventions in the fields of sewers, waste disposal , and other from his extraordinary vision, his engineering genius and his unshakable belief in the importance of his contributions that clashed with opinions that were not well founded. His courage questioned the lack of sound reasons behind the ways in which sewers were designed, built and managed in order to improve them for society. He was the one who drew attention to the state of the sewer networks and brought them to the public attention despite considerable political and academic resistance.

See also "Causes of leaks and ways of remedying them", source: Report of the Abwassertechnische Vereinigung e.V. No.37 (1986).

His work in bringing the importance of wastewater collection and wastewater discharge facilities for environmental and water protection as well as for the safety of the functioning of modern industrial society in the public eye formed the basis for the development of a service sector for the maintenance of sewer systems, which is now worth billions. Overcoming the sceptics and building up this industry was achieved through an academic lifetime that can only be regarded as extraordinary. Prof. Stein created the knowledge and understanding base of the industry with his sixspecialist books, including: "Maintenance of sewers" 1st to 4th editions, 52 book chapters, 189 publications, 274 scientific lectures and hundreds of studies and expert opinions, are thus inseparably linked to every day pipeline construction and maintenance.

With the establishment of the teaching and research area "Construction and Rehabilitation of Supply and Disposal Pipelines", initially with a focus on "Sewerage Technology" at the Ruhr University Bochum, Prof. Stein succeeded for the first time in establishing this discipline as part of the university landscape of the Federal Republic of Germany. His commitment in this field was confirmed by his appointment in 1991 as a university professor and head of the "Pipeline Construction and Rehabilitation" working group.

His work was continuously characterised by extensive cooperation and close collaboration with the industry, for example through the development and testing of construction and rehabilitation methods, the handling of construction tasks and the development of pipes of all materials. As a sworn expert of the Bochum Chamber of Industry and Commerce and not the least since 1994 as a partner in an engineering office bearing his name (now STEIN Ingenieure GmbH), he has succeeded in binding many of his employees to this office on a long-term basis. This personnel stability with a beneficial symbiosis of younger and older, experienced and at the same time committed employees is largely responsible for the fact that under his management a high-performance team of currently over 60 employees with specialists in all disciplines of pipeline construction and maintenance.

His groundwork has played a significant role in the considerable share of current sewer rehabilitation programs in the total construction output in Germany, with investment programs running into billions. In 1989, thanks to Prof. Stein's initiative, a new funding priority "Technologies for the rehabilitation of leaking sewers" was set up by the Federal Ministry of Research and Technology with the aim of developing efficient methods for detecting and repairing damage in leaking sewer systems. This enabled the various interests of local authorities, industry and research institutions in Germany to be united and focused on solving technical problems and birthing patents and licences.

Prof. Stein was a key initiator of the IKT - Institute for Underground Infrastructure (IKT, an affiliated institute at the Ruhr University Bochum based in Gelsenkirchen) and headed it from its foundation in 1994, initially as Managing Director and until 2000 as Institute Director. Prof Stein played a key role in bringing together the leading construction industry, wastewater associations in the region, pipe manufacturers, sewer rehabilitation companies, the city of Gelsenkirchen and the university with the support of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia to form an effective alliance.

Always open to new developments, Prof Stein was never satisfied with what he had achieved. He inspired his staff with his ideas and enthusiasm. His intensive penetration of research and teaching was enthusiastically received by the students. Every year, Prof Stein supervised a large number of dissertations and theses and was the supervisor for 19 dissertations and co-supervisor for many more. Students and doctoral candidates appreciated this personal commitment.

With equal enthusiasm, he endeavoured to pass on his findings and research results to engineers already in the profession, but also to incorporate them into standards and regulations in order to facilitate their implementation. From 1984, he headed the ATV working group "Rehabilitation and renewal of sewers and drains" until, thanks in part to his commitment, a new technical committee ES 8 was established for this topic in 1999 with him as chairman and a total of 8 working groups. Numerous national and European standards and guidelines were also developed under his leadership and with his co-operation. The Deutsche Vereinigung für Wasserwirtschaft, Abwasser und Abfall (DWA) leaflet series M 143, with a total of 20 leaflets, has attracted particular attention among experts and practitioners.

His scientific esteem was also reflected in his appointment to numerous committees and bodies of industry and professional associations as well as honorary posts. Examples are:

• Vice President of the International Society for Trenchless Technology (ISTT, London) and Head of the "Utility Corridors" Working Group of the ISTT
• Head of the "Research and Development" working group of the German Society for Trenchless Construction and Maintenance of Pipelines (GSTT, Hamburg)
• Member of the Expert Commission on Sewerage Technology NRW, appointed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
• Member of the project group "Soil and groundwater hazards from building materials - analysis, assessment" of the German Institute for Building Technology, Berlin
• Member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Mining and Energy Law at the Ruhr University Bochum
• Member of AGI Arbeitsgemeinschaft Industriebau e.V., "Sewer Rehabilitation" working group, founding member and board member of Güteschutz Kanalbau e.V. (until April 1996)
• German member appointed by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Technology in the COST Action C3 "Evaluation of Urban Infrastructure Networks"
• German representative on the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN/TC 165 /WG 22 (Drain and Sewer Systems Outside Buildings)
• Member of the Editorial Board of the technical journal "Trenchless Technology Research"
• Member of numerous committees for the preparation and organisation of national and international specialist congresses and symposia
• Member of Agenda 21 NRW, core working group "Climate Protection and Sustainable Mobility", appointed by the Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MUNLV)
• Member of the VpA Water Management Advisory Board

A special honour for Prof. Stein was the commissioning of his engineering office to accompany and support the State Environmental Agency of North Rhine-Westphalia in the examination and evaluation of the concepts for the operation and maintenance of the 55 km long "Emscher sewer" regarding disposal safety. This once-in-a-century deep gravity sewer project of the Emschergenossenschaft was a construction project of unusual dimensions, even by international standards.

Prof Stein was one of the increasingly rare figures of integration at the Ruhr University Bochum as well as in his engineering office, and in the course of his professional life he launched initiatives and strategies that will endure well into the future.

His employees particularly appreciated his expertise, his straightforwardness in decision-making and his comprehensive advice. He was regarded by them as an unrivalled role model when it came to formulating and precisely presenting technical contexts. But it was not only his technical commitment that should be emphasised in this sense: The highest principles for him were a well-functioning, productive team and unrestricted enjoyment of the task.

Prof Stein was a scientist with ideas and drive and at the same time an excellent teacher in the auditorium. One of his most remarkable skills, however, was recognising tried and tested but forgotten wastewater technologies from the 19th and early 20th centuries and modifying and implementing them to meet the ecological requirements of the 21st century to create pioneering developments. When he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 1999, this ability in particular was honoured, as were his achievements in the international recognition of German wastewater technology, the promotion of international scientific cooperation and the integration of East German wastewater technology.

His work was characterised by the tireless search for progress and innovation in the field of urban infrastructure and the global view of pipeline construction and maintenance. In particular, he focussed on the combined installation of supply and disposal lines and the joint operation and maintenance of all supply and disposal networks through the use of utility corridors. In this context and on the basis of a joint research project led by him, the specialist book "Der begehbare Leitungsgang" (The accessible utility corridor) was created as a suggestion for all engineers and network operators who are looking for alternatives to conventional pipe installation. The book was translated into Chinese in 2023.

His latest interdisciplinary research and development work on relieving our road networks and solving internal and inter-company logistics tasks by means of automated general cargo transport via underground pipelines (CargoCap) is expected to make an important contribution to the necessary structural change in urban agglomerations. The innovative CargoCap system, developed in interdisciplinary co-operation with economists, lawyers and engineers, offers far-reaching development potential for the industry involved in both the construction and operation of these systems. Even though CargoCap has not yet found any practical application, the topic is still so important that CargoCap was presented at the United Nations in Geneva and in the German pavilion "Future City" at the Expo in Dubai.

With the loss of Prof Stein, the professional world will miss its initiator and pioneer for the construction and maintenance of our increasingly important infrastructure facilities in the age of climate change. We owe him a great deal and will honour his memory.

Robert Stein

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