Stephan Rinderknecht studied aerospace engineering at the University of Stuttgart from 1984 to 1990, where he subsequently became a fellow in the engineering and mathematical research training group “Modelling and Discretization Methods for Continua and Flows (GKKS)” in 1994. After a post-doctoral position at the Institute of Statics and Dynamics of Aerospace Structures (ISD) at the University of Stuttgart, he moved to industry in 1995. Until 2008, he worked as a development engineer and in different management positions at GETRAG Getriebe- und Zahnradfabrik Hermann Hagenmeyer GmbH & Cie KG in Ludwigsburg, Untergruppenbach and St. Georgen. He has been a Professor of Mechatronic Systems in Mechanical Engineering at TU Darmstadt since 2009. From 2017 to 2019, he was Dean of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at TU Darmstadt.