The Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) mourns the loss of its former Scientific Director, esteemed colleague, passionate university lecturer and visionary practitioner, Prof. Dr Reiner Brunsch, who passed away on 22 July 2026 at the age of 69. With his passing, we have lost a defining figure who, for over a quarter of a century, helped shape the foundations of the ATB, played a decisive role in shaping its research focus and, like few others, embodied the bridge between cutting-edge academic research and agricultural practice.
Agriculture was part of Reiner Brunsch’s life right from the start. Born in Görlitz, Saxony, he initially trained as a milker – an important foundation for his entire subsequent scientific career. From 1979 to 1984, he studied animal production at Humboldt University in Berlin (HU Berlin), where he subsequently successfully completed his PhD on the topic ‘Technological influences on the performance of cows in free-stall housing’. Even at this early stage, his focus on the systemic optimisation of animal husbandry through the integration of technical innovations was evident. In 1999, he completed his habilitation thesis on the subject of ‘Material and heat production in poultry houses’.
HU Berlin remained his academic home. Through his honorary professorship in ‘Process Engineering in Animal Husbandry’, he was able to pass on his enthusiasm and knowledge to generations of students as a doctoral supervisor and university lecturer.
In 1997, he took over as head of the ‘Technology in Animal Husbandry’ department at the ATB. From 2004 to 2008, he led the institute on an interim basis, before steering the ATB’s course as Scientific Director from 2008 to 2017. Even after his time in the directorate, he remained an active and highly regarded researcher at the institute until his retirement in 2023.
Prof. Dr Reiner Brunsch has always been concerned with the question of how we humans can live well without destroying nature. Guided by a deep reverence for nature, he was already thinking in terms of complex systems at a time when the concept of sustainability was still in its infancy in many fields. His actions were consistently shaped by the guiding principle of sustainable development. It was his stated aim to strike a harmonious balance between animal welfare, environmental sustainability and economic viability.
He applied this systems-based approach far beyond the ATB. He was the initiator and long-standing spokesperson (2012–2020) of the Leibniz research alliance ‘Sustainable Food Production and Healthy Nutrition’. Under his leadership, different disciplines joined forces to advance the production of Healthy Foods in harmony with animal welfare and ecology, both globally and locally.
Prof. Dr Reiner Brunsch also had an outstanding international network and was a highly valued partner in scientific policy advice as well as in national and international boards and committees. He strengthened cooperative relationships with university research institutions and sustainably enhanced the ATB’s international standing. Furthermore, he contributed his knowledge and experience to numerous boards and committees. He was a committed member and Vice-President of the European Society of Agricultural Engineers (EurAgEng), a member of the Executive Board of the German Agricultural Research Alliance (DAFA), as well as a member of the Kuratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft (KTBL) and the VDI Technical Advisory Board, to name but a few.
The award of the Max Eyth Commemorative Medal demonstrated just how widely his work was recognised beyond the confines of ATB. It honoured his outstanding contributions to agricultural engineering and his commitment to the sustainable development of agriculture – and, in doing so, exemplified the link between research and practice, between progress and responsibility.
He did not merely research agriculture from his desk or in the laboratory – he also lived it in practice. In 1999, he took over the Gorinsee cattle farm in Brandenburg as owner and managing director. With 350 hectares of arable land and pasture, he rose to the challenge of Brandenburg’s nutrient-poor sandy soil. Inspired by the resolutions of the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro (1992), he systematically converted the farm from conventional to organic farming. In line with the ‘One Health’ philosophy: healthy soil produces healthy plants, which form the basis for healthy animals.
Our Scientific Director, Prof. Dr Barbara Sturm, looks back on their time together with great gratitude: “Reiner Brunsch was not only an outstanding scientist, but also a level-headed advisor and a mentor who opened doors for me and for many of his colleagues. His visionary leadership raised the ATB’s international profile, and his unconditional support during my inauguration was invaluable to me. He paved the way for me to take on this new role in many respects – at regional, national and international levels – for which I am deeply grateful to him. His ability to combine research and practice remains the benchmark against which we will continue to guide our research work.”
Many of the ATB’s achievements, both those visible today and those yet to come, were set in motion by Prof. Dr Reiner Brunsch years ago. The passion with which he was equally a scientist, university lecturer, farmer and adviser will continue to serve as a role model for us.
We shall remember Prof. Dr Reiner Brunsch with gratitude and respect. Our deepest sympathies go to his family, his loved ones and all his colleagues.
We have set up an online book of condolences for personal messages of remembrance and sympathy: