Christina Reuter studied industrial engineering with a focus on Mechanical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University and completed a master's degree in Industrial Engineering at Tsinghua University in Beijing. She then completed her doctorate at the Machine Tool Laboratory (WZL) at RWTH Aachen University, where she worked as a senior engineer and department head for production management from 2014 to 2016. 2017 she transitioned to industry at Airbus Defense and Space in Ottobrunn. Most recently, she held the position of Head of Sites Development. In 2025, she accepted an appointment at the Technical University of Munich, where she has been Professor of Sustainable Production Systems ever since and heads the Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management (iwb) with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rüdiger Daub und Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael F. Zäh. Prof. Reuter's research focuses on sustainable production systems and production management.
How did you become who you are?
I have always been a very inquisitive person – this curiosity has always accompanied me and still shapes my thoughts and actions today. I am driven to constantly learn new things, deepen my knowledge, and create real added value with ambition and the will to create. As the first in my family to pursue an academic career, a mixture of scientific curiosity, personal passion, and serendipity led me to where I am today: Professor of Sustainable Production Systems at the Technical University of Munich.
My studies and my doctorate at RWTH Aachen University laid the foundation. My year abroad at Tsinghua University in Beijing was particularly formative - it gave me an international perspective and sharpened my awareness of global challenges in industry. During my doctorate, when Industry 4.0 gained momentum, I worked at the interface between research and application. In Aachen, I was able to help set up a physical demonstration factory in which we developed pioneering industrial solutions together with partners. This experience had a lasting impact on my understanding of the connection between theory and practice.
After completing my doctorate, I further developed my expertise in various management roles at Airbus - I found the international collaboration particularly enriching. This time, not only significantly expanded my technical skills, but also my intercultural skills.
I am very aware that success rests on various pillars. An essential pillar in my life is my family, who support me in everything I do and at the same time give me the energy to pursue my goals.
What will be your first research project at TUM?
My research focuses on the development of sustainable and resilient production systems. My focus is on production management and the industrial circular economy. With the help of data-driven methods - primarily through artificial intelligence - I am working on better understanding, planning, and controlling production systems. I particularly enjoy interdisciplinary collaboration across departmental boundaries and with partners from various industries because I am convinced that only when scientific excellence and industrial relevance come together can we design production systems that are sustainable, resilient, and future-proof in the long term.
What changes would you like to see in the future?
I don't want to hope for change; I want to shape it actively. The greatest challenge of our time is the development of a sustainable lifestyle, understood in all its dimensions: economic, ecological, and social. Our general goal must be to establish systems that are fair and enable prosperity in harmony with planetary boundaries.
At the Chair of Sustainable Production Systems, we deal with the central question of how industrial production processes can be designed to be future-proof in the long term and enable a sustainable transformation of industry. A particular focus here is on the development of circular value-creation systems. These allow companies to extend product life cycles in a targeted manner and, if implemented correctly, open up high-margin new business models. A key lever for this change is resolving the supposed tension between profitability and ecology. Only if we consider both aspects holistically and in conjunction with each other can sustainable industrial value creation be realized - and real, effective change be achieved. I see this as a great opportunity for Germany to establish itself as a pioneer of sustainable technologies - with climate-friendly, economically viable, and globally scalable solutions.