Founding father of the computer science department becomes honorary senator

Günter Hotz, retired computer science professor of Saarland University, has been appointed honorary senator of Saarland University at the symposium marking the 50th anniversary of the Department of Computer Science. Hotz, born 1931 in Rommelshausen, is considered a pioneer of German computer science. Among other things, he wrote standard works in the fields of formal languages, circuit theory and complexity theory.
In 1969 he was appointed the first full professor of computer science at Saarland University. In the years that followed, he laid the foundation for the Saarland Informatics Campus to grow to its current size and establish an international reputation. University President Manfred Schmitt presented Hotz with the chain of honor.
It is not the first honor that Hotz has received. He was twice awarded the Saarland Order of Merit. In 1987 he received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, in 1998 the “Große Bundesverdienstkreuz” and in 1999 the Konrad Zuse Medal for merit in computer science.