08.07.2026

József Fortágh joins the President’s Office

University of Tübingen senate elects Professor of Physics to succeed Monique Scheer in International Strategy portfolio

The University of Tübingen Senate voted on July 8 to make Professor József Fortágh Vice-President for International Strategy, Diversity, and University Culture. Fortágh will take up the posi-tion on October 1, 2026. He succeeds Professor Monique Scheer, who served as Vice-President for International Affairs from 2016 to 2020 and, since 2020, as Vice-President for International Strategy and Diversity. Fortágh has been a professor of experimental physics at the University of Tübingen Science Faculty since 2007.

“József Fortágh is not only an outstanding researcher with an international reputation; he also brings experience and a proven commitment to leadership in academic governance,” says University Pres-ident, Professor Dr. Karla Pollmann. “I look forward to working with him on the issues József Fortágh has chosen for special focus and which will further advance our University.”

Fortágh says it is essential to position the University as a strong and attractive institution on the in-ternational stage while also establishing this international character as a natural part of daily Universi-ty life: in studies, research, and administration. “Another priority will be the further development of a University culture of lively academic discussion which connects University members across disci-plines, backgrounds, and life paths,” he says.  

To reflect these priorities, the President’s Office decided to adopt a new name for the position: Vice-President for International Strategy, Diversity, and University Culture. In addition, Fortágh will place an emphasis on first-generation academics – individuals who are the first in their families to attend a university or earn an academic degree.

József Fortágh studied physics at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and in Munich at the Technical University and Ludwig Maximilian University. In 2003, he earned his doctor-ate from the University of Tübingen with the distinction of summa cum laude. After a research fellow-ship at the University of Queensland in Australia, he has led the Nano-Atomoptics research group at the University of Tübingen since 2006, where he was appointed to a professorship in 2007. Since 2017, he has been a deputy dean of the Faculty of Science; from 2020 to 2021, he served as interim dean. Fortágh has won many prizes for his work: in 2006, he received the “NanoFutur” Research Award from the German Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space. In 2016, he was a visiting scholar at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

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