Settings

Design

If you use one of the color modes, the TUM website and its elements will be displayed in either dark or light.

The settings are stored on your computer and not transferred to the server.
  • 6/1/2017

TUM grants honorary citizenship to Carmen Würth

Relentless commitment to others

Yesterday Carmen Würth was named an honorary citizen of the Technical University of Munich (TUM). TUM conferred this rare distinction on the entrepreneur in recognition of her sponsorship of work on behalf of people with mental and physical disabilities. It is owing to her commitment that the Markus Würth Professorship in Pediatric Neuroorthopedics and Cerebral Palsy was established at TUM in 2012: With her team, Prof. Renée Lampe studies the consequences of brain damage in early childhood and investigates new treatment options.

Left to right: Prof Renée Lampe, Carmen Würth and Prof. Wolfgang A. Herrmann.
Carmen Würth (center), honorary citizen of the Technical University of Munich, with TUM-President Wolfgang A. Herrmann and Prof. Renée Lampe (left), Endowed Professorship for Neuroorthopedics and Cerebral Palsy. (Image: Benz / TUM)

At the presentation ceremony, TUM president Prof. Wolfgang A. Herrmann mentioned the numerous projects with which Carmen Würth promotes the social integration of people with disabilities. With the foundation she established with her husband, the entrepreneur Prof. Reinhold Würth, she supports care facilities, inclusiveness projects and a music festival, among other initiatives. "Ms. Würth's philosophy of life and her commitment to others is exemplary," said Prof. Herrmann at the awards ceremony. "We are greatly honored that she chose TUM as the location for the Markus Würth Foundation Professorship for Pediatric Neuro-Orthopaedics and Cerebral Palsy five years ago."


The endowed professorship enables Prof. Renée Lampe and her team to do research on the development of children with cerebral palsy. These sometimes serious conditions are the result of brain damage in early childhood, for instance when there is a shortage of oxygen at birth. The consequences can be motor dysfunction, speech and language disorders, behavioral disorders, learning disabilities and epilepsy.

New therapeutic approaches

Prof. Lampe not only conducts basic research in these disorders, but also works with her team to develop innovative therapeutic concepts on the basis of the results. One example is the world's first standing wheelchair with biometric joints. The upright position has a positive impact on muscle tone for patients who cannot stand unaided and helps to prevent pressure ulcers and damage to the hip joints. 

A second therapeutic project pursues a quite different direction: A potential form of treatment for cerebral palsy patients is to play the piano. As they practice, the brain forms new synapses and their hand sensorimotor functions improve. To make it easier for children with cerebral palsy to practice, Lampe – herself a pianist – developed a sensorimotor system with her colleagues. That achievement earned Prof. Lampe and her team the TUM IdeAward in 2015.

Technical University of Munich

Corporate Communications Center

Back to list

News about the topic

HSTS