Günter Lüttgens
On March 22, 2021, Günter Lüttgens passed away in Odenthal, Germany, completely unexpectedly and shortly before his 88th birthday. As the founder of the Elstatik Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting scientific work in the fields of electrostatics and energy efficiency, he was one of the world's best-known electrostatics experts. He came to work in the chemical industry via his studies in electrical engineering to which he had been intermittently dedicated, passing on his knowledge to countless partners around the world and always explaining it patiently. In 1998, he was appointed expert on electrostatic test methods by the IEC, and from 2001 to 2012 he was the chairman of the corresponding committee at the DKE. For about 25 years, together with his wife Sylvia and his dog Felix, he ran courses on the topic of how to avoid hazards caused by electrostatic charges, which could almost be called legendary. In addition, as the coordinating author, he published many articles and several books on the subject of electrostatics both in German and in English. In 2013, he was given the International Fellow Award for research and teaching in the field of "Static Electricity in Industry" by the EFCE Working Party. After the 2019 publication of the technical book "Static Electricity", which has since become a standard work, he initiated and started the revision of the Practical Encyclopedia of Electrostatics in 2020. Wolfgang Schubert will complete the encyclopedia in the spirit of Günter Lüttgens in order to preserve his knowledge for posterity. Günter Lüttgens's death tears deep gaps both in the professional world and in his foundation which will be difficult to fill. We will miss him extraordinarily as a person and as an expert and will always remember him fondly.