On 24 February 2025, Mr. Peter Lothar Niebuhr successfully defended his dissertation, entitled “Investigations into the Fatigue Behaviour of Connections with Self-Tapping Timber Screws,” at the premises of the Institute for Building Construction and Timber Engineering (IBHolz), earning the overall distinction “magna cum laude.” The cumulative dissertation—based on three scientific publications in English-language journals—was largely prepared during Mr. Niebuhr’s tenure as a research associate at IBHolz. Alongside his subsequent practical work at the engineering firm Marx Krontal Partner, he devoted the necessary time to finalizing the dissertation. We are delighted by this outstanding achievement and by maintaining a valuable connection to Marx Krontal Partner through Mr. Niebuhr.

Many thanks to Prof. Mike Sieder (supervisor and first reviewer), Prof. Ulrike Kuhlmann (second reviewer) from the University of Stuttgart, Prof. Martin H. Kessel (examiner), and to Prof. Jochen Zehfuß for chairing the examination committee.