Rolf F. Nohr

Dr. Rolf F. Nohr serves as Professor of Media Aesthetics/Media Culture at Braunschweig University of Art (HBK Braunschweig) and holds an External Affiliate position at the University of Arizona's College of Humanities. His research centers on media evidence methodologies, game studies, and instant images, with particular emphasis on simulation games as cultural techniques that shape rationality and decision-making processes.

Nohr's scholarly work investigates the interplay between media theory, cultural techniques, and ludic systems. He examines how games function as evidentiary media through historical analysis of business simulations (1955-1975), military war games, and contemporary digital environments. His research reveals how strategic play constructs rational subject positions while interrogating the materiality of game interfaces and the epistemological status of media images.

Recent publications demonstrate a cohesive trajectory analyzing games as media artifacts that produce knowledge through procedural logic. His work bridges historical media archaeology with contemporary game design, focusing on genre theory, player agency, and the pedagogical dimensions of serious games. Key themes include the transformation of work logic into play systems, feedback mechanisms in teaching machines, and the cultural techniques embedded in simulation interfaces.

Scientific recognition includes:

• LehrLeo TU Braunschweig Award for Best Lecture in BA Studies (2013)
• German Study Prize, 3rd Place by Körber Foundation (1998)

Nohr has secured major research funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG), Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), and NORD/LB Foundation for projects including 'Strategie Spielen' (2006-2011), 'Kulturtechnik Unternehmensplanspiel' (2012-2019), and 'PlanA – Planspiel Arbeitswelten' (2018). As Regional Director of the Learning Games Initiative Research Archive since 2015, he leads game preservation efforts while collaborating across engineering, humanities, and social science disciplines.

He co-founded the Games Research Group within the German Society for Media Studies (GfM) and serves as editor for the 'Medien'Welten' and 'Braunschweiger Schriften zur Medienkultur' book series. His interdisciplinary collaborations span the TU Braunschweig's engineering departments, University of Arizona humanities scholars, and international game researchers through the Learning Games Initiative network.