Markus Heß

Dr.-Ing. Markus Heß serves as Senior Engineer at the Institute of Mechanics within Faculty V - Mechanical Engineering and Transport Systems at Technical University of Berlin. He has been with the System Dynamics and Friction Physics group since April 2015, building on over 20 years of academic experience at TU Berlin. His position involves significant teaching responsibilities across multiple engineering mechanics courses and leadership in the institute's research activities.

Dr. Heß specializes in contact mechanics and tribology, with particular expertise in the Method of Dimensional Reduction (MDR) which he pioneered in 2007. His research spans fundamental theoretical work in contact mechanics to applied research in biotribology, including electrovibration in surface haptics (electrodynamic control of friction between fingers and touchscreens) and contact mechanics in endoprosthetics. His work bridges theoretical mechanics with practical engineering applications across multiple disciplines.

His publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to contact mechanics, with a clear evolution from foundational theoretical work on dimensional reduction methods to current applications in biotribology and haptic interfaces. The research shows strong continuity in contact mechanics while expanding into new application areas like medical implants and human-computer interaction technologies.

• GfT Prize 2011 by the Society for Tribology for his distinguished dissertation

As an experienced educator with over two decades of teaching, Dr. Heß is responsible for organization, leadership, and implementation of exercise and examination operations for fundamental mechanics courses. He serves as reviewer for numerous international tribology journals and co-edits special issues, including the current "Dry Friction: Theory, Analysis and Applications" for the journal Machines. His work at Rolls-Royce Germany during his studies demonstrates industry experience that informs his practical approach to mechanical engineering problems.

Dr. Heß works within the System Dynamics and Friction Physics group at TU Berlin's Institute of Mechanics, contributing to the institute's reputation in contact mechanics research. His development of the Method of Dimensional Reduction has created a significant research direction within the group, with applications spanning traditional engineering systems to cutting-edge biomedical and human-computer interaction technologies.