Prof. Dirk Bartel studied mechanical engineering (specializing in drive technology) from 1989 to 1994. After completing his studies, he became a research assistant at the Chair of Machine Elements and Tribology at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg. In 2000, he received his doctorate on the subject of “Calculating solid and mixed friction in metal pairs”. This work was awarded the Society for Tribology (GfT) award in 2001. He then became a senior engineer at the chair and, in this role, pushed for greater use of simulation methods to work on research and development projects. In 2009, he completed his habilitation with the topic “Simulation of Tribological Systems: Fundamentals and Applications” and was appointed private lecturer with the Venia Legendi “Tribology of Mobile Systems” at the University of Magdeburg. In 2014, an appointment was made as an extraordinary professor. In March 2016, he was appointed as managing director of the Institute for Competence in AutoMobility at the University of Magde