Dr.-Ing. Christian Cramer, currently a Senior Engineer in Vehicle Dynamics Testing & Simulation in the Research and Development department at Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH in Hanover, received his certificate of appointment as a professor at htw saar on September 21 at the Ministry of Finance and Science.
Christian Cramer studied mechanical engineering at Leibniz University Hannover, specializing in “Vehicle Systems” and “Mechanics and Design,” and graduated with a Diplom degree in 2012.
Since 2012, he has held various positions in research and development at Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH. From 2012 to 2014, he worked in Technical Event Management at the interface between end customers and objective driving tests. One focus was on simplifying the mechanisms of vehicle dynamics in an educational manner and making them tangible for international customers through both theory and practice. From 2014 to 2021, he worked as a vehicle dynamics engineer in test method development. There, using complex specialized test and measurement technology, he developed innovative test and evaluation methods for OE tire development.
Since 2015, he has been involved in academic teaching on vehicle dynamics at the “Institute for Dynamics and Vibrations” at Leibniz University Hannover. In 2023, he earned his Ph.D. with honors from the same institute with a dissertation on the objectification of subjective driving impressions. The focus was on the analysis of measured vehicle motion parameters during the subjective evaluations of professional drivers at Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH. He was able to extract new parameters from driving tests and transfer them into driving dynamics simulations, thereby supporting the process of virtual tire development. In 2024, Christian Cramer was awarded the Dr. Jürgen Ulderup Prize for his outstanding doctoral dissertation.
In his role as “Senior Engineer, Vehicle Dynamics Testing & Simulation,” he works at the intersection of road testing and vehicle dynamics simulation. He leads innovative technology projects in collaboration with various automakers. At the Competence Center Vehicle Dynamics (CCVD), he conducts global vehicle dynamics training sessions for research and development engineers at Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH. In this role, he is also active in standardization at the national level through the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) as the “DIN Working Group Chair for Vehicle Dynamics.” As an “ISO expert,” he also represents the German automotive industry at the international level in the “Vehicle Dynamics” working group.
Christian Cramer conducts research and publishes on the following topics: “Objectification of subjectively perceived vehicle motion variables,” “Virtualization of tire and vehicle characteristics,” and “The use of artificial intelligence for more efficient and sustainable vehicle development.” He regularly presents his findings at international conferences.
At htw saar, Christian Cramer will represent the field of automotive engineering—with a focus on vehicle dynamics and suspensions—in both research and teaching within the Faculty of Engineering, and will introduce students to this field through driving tests and simulations. He is particularly committed to linking theoretical course content with hands-on driving experiences in road tests and driving simulators, as well as fostering close collaborations with the automotive industry.