Prof. Dr. Michael Decker
Academic Career and Research Areas
Professor Decker’s research areas include technology assessment (TA) and science communication. As an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field of research, TA poses particular challenges for science communication both within the scientific community and with regard to its target audience in politics, business, and society. TA on AI and robotics, concepts of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, science communication methods in participatory formats and in museums.
Professor Decker was appointed to the TUM on June 1st, 2025. At the same time, he was appointed director general of Deutsches Museum. He studied physics at the University of Heidelberg, doctorate 1995, PostDoc at the German Aerospace Centre then he turned to technology assessment (TA) research. In TA he qualified as professor at the University of Freiburg and was appointed as full professor for technology assessment at the Technical University of Karlsruhe in 2009. He headed until 2015 the Institute for Technology Assessment (ITAS) and subsequently the division Informatics, Economics and Society at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
Key Publications
The first interdisciplinary studies, taking into account artificial intelligent robots. For example:
Decker, M.; Henckel, U. Service robots on their way? First steps of an interdisciplinary technology assessment 2012. Poiesis and Praxis, 9.
Abstract
The topic is more relevant today than ever, although the question of what tasks robots will take on in the future has always been important:
Decker, M., Fischer, M., & Ott, I. (2017). Service Robotics and Human Labor: A first technology assessment of substitution and cooperation. Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 87, 348-354.
M. Decker (ed) Interdisciplinarity in Technology Assessment: Implementation and Its Chances and Limits." Springer 2001.
AbstractM. Decker, M. Ladikas (eds) Technology Assessment in Europe. Between method and impact. Springer 2004.
AbstractDecker, M.; Grunwald, A. Demands for, and motivations of, technology assessment. 2024. Handbook of Technology Assessment. Ed.: A. Grunwald, 42–51, Edward Elgar Publishing.
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