On July 17, 2025, Senator E.h. Dr. Karl Busch passed away at the age of 96. Dr. Busch had close ties to the Technical University of Munich and followed the development of his alma mater with great interest.
After completing his studies and doctorate at TUM and subsequently working in his grandparents' company, he founded his own business. With the invention of his first vacuum pump, he enjoyed great success right from the start. Together with his wife and later also with his children, he built up a globally active group of companies with great skill and entrepreneurial foresight. Throughout all these years, he retained his social and humanistic attitude and lived for his company.
Dr. Busch was a very impressive and extraordinary person with a big heart. We felt this not only through his generous donations to the TUM University Foundation—his social commitment became particularly evident when he spontaneously donated a large sum of money to the TUM University Foundation to alleviate the financial hardship of many students affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
We are very proud and grateful to have had such a committed friend and supporter in him. We will miss him and always honor his memory.
Eleonore Classen passed away on June 13, 2025 at the age of 91. As a patron, Mrs. Classen generously supported the TUM University Foundation.
TUM will honor the memory of Mrs. Classen and her husband Prof. Dr. Meinhard Classen, former professor of medicine at TUM.
We mourn the loss of our benefactor.
On October 13, 2024, Senator E.h. Dr. Wilhelm Winterstein passed away at the age of 93.
Senator E.h. Dr. Winterstein was closely associated with the TU Munich for many years - following in the footsteps of his grandfathers, the Honorary Senator Dr. Theodor Winterstein and the Honorary Doctor of the former THM, Wilhelm von Fink. One of the reasons he gave for his generous financial and non-material commitment to the Technical University of Munich was that he not only wanted to inherit his grandfathers, but also to continue their work. He always viewed new developments at the TU Munich with great interest and was actively involved. Not only large projects, but also the promotion of students were very close to his heart.
Senator E.h. Dr. Winterstein was a generous patron - we are very grateful to him for his commitment.
We will miss him and will always honor his memory.
Dr. Karl Heinz Weiss died on September 8, 2024, at the age of 95. He was a a benefactor of the TUM University Foundation since 2020 and co-founder of the Karl Max von Bauernfeind Association (KMvB).
Dr. Weiss was closely associated with the Technical University of Munich for many years. As a founding member of the KMvB and as a member of the TUM Board of Trustees, he rendered outstanding services to the development of TUM. A concern that he also made clear with his donation to the TUM University Foundation.
The students were particularly close to his heart. For this reason, he also donated German scholarships for many years. But he didn't just make donations; personal contact with the scholarship holders was also always important to him. He was interested in hearing what they were doing with their studies and how they were going about it. The scholarship holders were always very impressed by his personality.
We will miss him and will always honor his memory.