Michael Rath

Prof. Dr. Michael Rath is Professor for Building Energy Technology at Hochschule Bochum since February 2022, affiliated with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He serves as Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Renewable Energy Systems, member of the Faculty Council, and member of several interdisciplinary institutes including the Interdisciplinary Institute for Applied AI and Data Science Ruhr (AKIS), DigiTeach Institute, and the Foundation Institute for the Energy Transition Institute (EnWI).

His educational background includes parallel Diplom studies in Physics and Mathematics at Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster (2004-2010), followed by doctoral research at Philipps-Universität Marburg (2010-2015) where he completed his dissertation on turbulence models.

Prof. Rath's research spans building energy technology with a strong focus on renewable energy integration, particularly geothermal and solar systems. His work addresses climate-neutral energy systems through innovative approaches to district heating networks, thermal storage solutions, and machine learning applications for energy optimization. He investigates urban heat transition strategies, building automation, and sector coupling to achieve sustainable energy solutions for both new and existing buildings.

His publication portfolio reveals consistent research output focused on practical energy solutions, with recent work emphasizing geothermal heat pump optimization, machine learning applications in energy systems, and district heating network design. The research demonstrates a clear trajectory toward integrated, climate-neutral urban energy systems with particular attention to forecasting methods, market-oriented operation, and thermal storage solutions.

Prof. Rath actively supervises numerous bachelor's and master's theses, with recent students working on topics including thermal network modeling, sustainable hot water supply, summer heat protection measures, and photovoltaic integration effects on electricity prices. He also serves as second supervisor for doctoral candidates working on decarbonized district heating systems and hierarchical control strategies.

He leads the Competence Center for Integrated Building Energy Technology at Fraunhofer IEG and is involved in significant research projects including EnOB: ARCHE (focusing on self-optimizing control systems for distributed energy systems) and the NRW Heat Study by LANUV, where he contributes to regional heat planning with a focus on developing cost frameworks for renovation measures.