Otto Klung and the Otto Klung Foundation

In 1925, Otto Klung (1893–1968) moved to Berlin and purchased a cinema in Berlin-Lichterfelde. He then opened a shop for radio receivers and vinyl records in 1928 at Tauentzienstraße in Berlin-Charlottenburg. His company TELEVOX was hence active in an industry that saw a particularly strong upturn in the 1920s and 1930s. This economic success was the basis for his assets, which were further increased through a targeted investment strategy in cinemas after 1945.

Otto Klung lived in Berlin until his death. The trained mechanical engineer and graduated engineer regretted not to have studied at a university as he felt he was therefore lacking the possibility to shape advancement in science and society more actively. Since he did not have any children, he bequeathed part of his assets to the newly founded Otto Klung Foundation for the promotion of outstanding younger chemists and physicists.

Dr. Wilhelmy and the Dr. Wilhelmy Foundation

The Dr. Wilhelmy Foundation was founded in 2007 with its primary objective being to sustain the endowment of the Klung Wilhlemy Weberbank Award, as it was called at that time. The conferral of the award was intended to give public recognition to the scientific elite.

Dr.-Ing. Lothar Wilhelmy, born in 1940 in Kiel, Germany, studied electrical engineering and received his doctorate in Stuttgart. In 1972, he took on leading positions in medium-sized companies in Berlin. From 1983 until his retirement in 2006, he was chairman of the board at Hübner Elektromaschinen AG, today called BaumerHübner GmbH. Under the slogan "precision + innovation" Hübner-Berlin achieved the position of a worldwide-leading manufacturer of speed sensors in heavy-duty technology for drive technology. "Precision" is more than just quality and "innovation" is more than just (further) development. Together, they demand outstanding performance and breaking of new ground. These are characteristics that also apply to fundamental science.