Felix Schmid has retired from his post as Professor of Railway Systems Engineering at the University of Birmingham after 15 years.
He moved to Birmingham in 2005 from the University of Sheffield, where he had built up the MSc programme in Railway Systems Engineering over 11 years. Before that, he was a lecturer in Control Systems Engineering at Brunel University for 10 years.
Born in Switzerland, he studied Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Zürich, before moving to the UK to join GEC Traction in 1978.
A huge enthusiast for all things railway and engineering, Felix is a regular judge for the IMechE Railway Challenge and, with partner Bridget Eickhoff, organises the Institution’s annual Technical Tour.
Despite retiring, he still has plenty to look forward to. He is the chair of the IMechE Railway Division for 2020/21 and has also been appointed Professor emeritus of Railway Systems Engineering at the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education.
In a post on LinkedIn, the Permanent Way institution wished him well. “Over a long and very vigorous career, he has made a huge contribution to railways, inspiring countless students to establish themselves as leaders in our industry in the UK and worldwide,” a spokesperson said.
“He has been a great asset to the PWI, giving talks at our meetings and helping Brian Counter to set in motion the actions that led us to be able to offer professional registration on the way to becoming the full blown Professional Engineering Institution we are today.”
Even though he will still be around, Felix will be sorely missed.
