On November 14 and 15, 2025, the 44th History of Technology Conference of the Iron Library will take place at the Klostergut Paradies in Schlatt near Schaffhausen (Switzerland). Since 1978, it has provided an outstanding platform for exchange between research, teaching, and industry. Participation is by invitation only.
The event is organized by the Iron Library (Eisenbibliothek) Foundation of Georg Fischer Ltd. Responsibility for the content of the conference is in the hands of the scientific advisory board, whose members include Prof. Dr. Matthias Heymann (Aarhus University), Prof. Dr. Gisela Hürlimann (TU Dresden), and Prof. Dr. Marcus Popplow (KIT)
Conference Participants
Riccardo Barbone, CTO Global Design and Prefabrication, GF Piping Systems, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Evolution of Piping Systems: A Low-Tech Perspective
Joshua Dao-Wei Sim, Ph.D., National University of Singapore
Alternatives to the Aircon: Exertional and Vernacular Heat Management Strategies as «Low-Tech Cooling» in Singapore, 1970s to the present
Maximilian Gasch, M.A., TU Dresden, Germany
Low-tech as a necessity of German automotive research during the Second World War
Dr. des. Dorothea M. Hutterer, Rachel Carson Center – LMU Munich, Germany
Mills on Maps - Low-Tech Continuity in the Cultural Landscape
Clemens Janke, M.A., TU Braunschweig, Germany
Treating Brain Damage with an Intercom System. Re-Use Strategies of Departments of Scientific Medical Engineering at University Clinics in the GDR in the 1980s
Assist. Professor Stefan Krebs, University of Luxembourg
Conclusion and closing remarks
Prof. Dr. Steven Lubar, Brown University, Providence RI, USA
Hand tools as a model for understanding technology
Ph.D. cand. Simon Maier, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Germany
Low-tech Engineering: The example of IPAT at TU Berlin (1970s and 1980s)
Prof. Dr. Catharine Rossi, University for the Creative Arts, Canterbury, UK
A Recent History of the Handmade: From Modern Craft to Post Craft, from Making to Growing
Zoe Shipley, M.A., University of Durham, UK
Bridges of Japan: A low-tech/high-tech case study of Meiji technology, 1868 – 1912
Beatriz Rodrigues Moreira da Silva, M.A., GF Piping Systems, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs): A Low-Tech Conceptual Tool in AI and Beyond
Dr. Madhulika Sonkar, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, New Delhi, India
«Handloom needs hunar (talent), not hi-tech tools»: Pedagogies of revival and representation among zardozi artisans in Contemporary India
Patryk Wasiak, Ph.D., Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
Deconstructing «Low-tech» within the Narrative of Progress in «High-tech» as documented by the Computer Industry
Prof. Dr. Heike Weber, TU Berlin, Germany
Low-tech Engineering: The example of IPAT at TU Berlin (1970s and 1980s)
Dr. Silke Zimmer-Merkle, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany
Are children’s mobilities (s)low-tech? Reflections on the historical example of the scooter
