Prof. Dr. Michael Braun is a physicist and obtained his master´s and doctoral degrees from the University of Tübingen, one of Germany´s Universities of Excellence. Over the years his research has evolved from atomic physics to laser design and applications and finally medical physics in Tübingen and at Stanford University, California.

After his postdoc year Prof. Braun joined the leading European aerospace company and became the director of the European Space Agency´s Technology Program for Research under Microgravity involving numerous subcontractors and research institutions in Europe and the United States. Many years later he left the company as group-wide Head of Marketing Orbital Systems Utilization and decided to return to higher education and university research as a Professor of Applied Physics at Nuremberg Institute of Technology. After a few years Prof. Braun was elected as a member of the university´s senior management and vice president and served the university as its president in three consecutive terms for another 14 years.

Many innovative concepts, strategies and reforms in the university sector and in science as well as groundbreaking developments in the collaboration between universities, non-university research institutions, industry, the public sector, society and politics can be traced back to his initiative. He served as managing director of a joint venture company between the university and an industry association, co-founded and initiated institutes, centers and startups, was a reviewer and expert in research programs and worked as a consultant for ministries and as an advisory board member for several companies and government agencies. Prof. Braun has been nominated three times as Germany´s “University Manager of the Year” and received numerous awards.

After his active time as a university president and professor, he founded the Steinbeis Consulting Center for Science Management in 2020 and became Rector of the German University of Technology in Oman in 2022.