This Friday saw the presentations of the Diesel Medal in Gold at a ceremony in the Hall of Honor of the Deutsche Museum in Munich. The medal is awarded by the Diesel Board of Trustees to honor inventors and their enterprising work. Among this year's recipients of the coveted award is Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser (92), a pioneer in the field of radio frequency technology and electroacoustics and the founder of Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG.

The Diesel Medal, which is awarded every two and three years, is presented not only to recognize the technical brilliance of the recipients but also to mark their economic relevance. For Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser, the Diesel Medal is therefore a double award: "When I founded the company in 1945, I was an engineer through and through. I concentrated on development and gave lectures at the university. As far as commercial issues and company management were concerned, I had to teach myself everything I know. Sometimes, I also had to learn from my own mistakes."

The inventions produced by Sennheiser and his team revolutionized the field of sound transmission. Their pioneering developments included the first interference shotgun microphone for the film industry, the first professional wireless microphones for television, reporters' transmitters, RF condenser microphones for outside broadcasts, the automatic answering machine, the first baby monitor, infrared audio transmission technology and the first open headphones. Sennheiser's company - now a global corporation - has maintained this innovative power to this very day.

In addition to Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser, the Diesel Medal was also awarded to Sybille Storz, Prof. Dr. h.c. Reinhold Würth, Prof. Dr. Anton Kathrein, Jörgen S. Rasmussen and Günther Kampichler. The ceremonial speech was made by Dr. Thomas Goppel, Bavarian State Minister for Science, Research and Art.

The Diesel Medal Trust and the Diesel Board of Trustees were established in 1952 by the son of the inventor of the diesel engine, Dr. Eugen Diesel. The foundation led to the establishment in 1969 of the Deutsche Institut für Erfindungswesen e.V. (German Institute for Inventions), within which the Diesel Board of Trustees independently decides on awarding the Diesel Medal for outstanding inventions.

As one of the world's leading manufacturers of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems, the Sennheiser Group with its headquarters in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, had total sales of over €237 million in 2003. The export share is about 80%. Sennheiser has a total workforce of approx. 1,600 employees, of whom 60% are employed in Germany. Sennheiser is active worldwide and, in addition to other partnerships, has its own sales subsidiaries in France, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, China, Singapore, Canada, Mexico and the USA.

For further information about Sennheiser please visit us on the Internet at www.sennheiser.com or contact:

Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG  
Pressereferat - Edelgard Marquardt  
Am Labor 1 - 30900 Wedemark   
Fon: +49 (5130) 600-329   
Fax: +49 (5130) 600-295   
e-Mail: marquare@sennheiser.com  

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e-Mail: ct@fischerappelt.de