On March 24, 2019, the former head of the Department of Electrochemistry and Electroplating at Ilmenau University of Technology passed away after a long and serious illness. As an outstanding scientist and university lecturer, Prof. Christine Jakob was closely associated with electrochemistry and electroplating technology. As a specialist colleague and contact person, she rendered outstanding services to the preservation of the field of electrochemistry and electroplating at Ilmenau University of Technology.
Christine Jakob, born on 11.01.1948, began her vocational training as a chemical laboratory assistant after completing polytechnic secondary school in Engelsdorf near Leipzig. She then studied at Ilmenau Technical University and graduated in 1972 with a degree in electrochemistry and electroplating. She then worked for several years as an assistant to Prof. Heinz Liebscher, completing her doctorate in 1979 on the subject of "Model investigations into the influence of hydrodynamic conditions on the electroplating deposition process".
From 1979 to 1983, she gained practical experience in the precious metal electroplating department of VEB Mikroelektronik Ilmenau, where she was mainly responsible for the partial refinement of carrier materials for microelectronic components. After returning to the Ilmenau University of Applied Sciences, Dr. Christine Jakob began working in the Department of Glass and Ceramic Technology in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering under Prof. Dagmar Hülsenberg. Her work in this department ended in 1988 with the successful defence of her habilitation on the subject of "Electrophoresis of ceramic suspensions - conduction mechanism and electrode optimization". Her appointment as a university lecturer in electrochemical technology in February 1989 was linked to her return to the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology. There she took over the Department of Materials Technology. Following the retirement of Prof. Heinz Liebscher in 1997 and Prof. Cordt Schmidt in 2000, Dr. Christine Jakob was awarded an adjunct professorship. From then on, she was Head of the Department of Electrochemistry and Electroplating until 2013.
In close cooperation with Chemnitz University of Technology, she carried out extensive research into nickel dispersion layers with nanoscale particles. This led to a series of publications, for which she was awarded the Heinz-Leuze Prize in 2000 together with colleagues from Chemnitz University of Technology. Other areas of research included the electroless copper plating of textiles and the passivation of zinc coatings.
Prof. Christine Jakob put a great deal of energy into securing the long-term existence of the field of electrochemistry and electroplating at Ilmenau University of Technology, as there was no corresponding chair in the German-speaking world. Thanks to her commitment and determination, the "Electrochemistry and Electroplating" endowed professorship was established together with the Zentralverband Oberflächentechnik e. V. and the Ilmenau University of Technology, which was filled by Prof. Andreas Bund in August 2010. The endowed professorship was dedicated to traditional and new fields of work and was transferred to regular university funding in November 2015.
In addition to teaching, third-party funding and numerous publications, Prof. Christine Jakob supervised 50 diploma theses, 5 dissertations and one habilitation and maintained close contacts with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Technical University of Sofia.
A sufferer of rheumatism herself, Prof. Christine Jakob was a volunteer in the Rheuma League. In 2010, she was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon and the Kussmaul Medal of the German Society for Rheumatology for her 16 years of service, including 12 years as President of the Federal Association of the Rheumatism League.
In 2017, the DGO district groups of Saxony and Thuringia presented Prof. Christine Jakob with the Leipzig Electroplating Award in recognition of her special services to electroplating technology and her scientific achievements.
