Dr.-Ing. e.h. Heinz Sossenheimer, to whom the Award pays tribute, was formerly the Director of the DVS - Deutscher Verband für Schweissen und verwandte Verfahren e.V. (German Welding Society) from 1958-1991. Throughout his career, he gave wholehearted support to cooperation with the International Institute of Welding (IIW) and served the organization with exemplary dedication in several capacities for over 30 years.
Notably, he was the IIW Treasurer from 1969-1972 and again from 1978-1984, also serving as Vice-Chair and Chair of the Publication Committee from 1975-1983. In the latter position, Dr.-Ing. Heinz Sossenheimer played a decisive role in the development of the IIW's flagship publication, Welding in the World, into an internationally-recognized, technical-scientific journal in the fields of joining, cutting and surfacing.
In this regard, his early efforts have since borne fruit, as the journal was registered in the prestigious Thomson-Reuters Science Citation Index Expanded and Materials Science Citation Index in January 2009.