Technology philosopher Vitaly Gorokhov passed away

ITAS mourns the loss of its long-time member of staff, an outstanding researcher in the field of technology assessment and the main architect of the scientific collaboration between Germany and Russia.

A few days ago, Prof. Dr. Vitaly Gorokhov died after a serious illness. He had close ties with ITAS over a long time: in the beginning as head of the German-Russian College at the former University of Karlsruhe, then as visiting scientist, and later, until his retirement, as scientific member of the ITAS staff. Vitaly Gorokhov stood out as the architect of the German-Russian collaboration in technology assessment and its related fields which ITAS has maintained for some 15 years. As a professor at the renowned Lomonosov Moscow State University and key member of the Institute of Philosophy at the Russian Academy of Sciences he was bridging the gap between quite different worlds – and he was an expert at it.

He never ceased to contribute in networks, conferences, workshops and with numerous publications to the overcoming of traditional borders – not only between East and West, but also between the disciplines. As an outstanding technology philosopher he did not retreat into an ivory tower, but kept in touch with natural and technical sciences as well as the humanities and social sciences knowing that relevant insights into the complex questions of technology assessment cannot be found within the discipline alone. In recognition of his great commitment to the philosophy of technology and the scientific cooperation between Germany and Russia, KIT awarded Prof. Dr. Vitaly Gorokhov an honorary doctorate in January 2015. (16.09.2016)

Further information:

Report on the award of the KIT honorary doctorate to Vitaly Gorokhov in January 2015
His scientific work will be honoured in detail in the next TATuP issue (3/2016)