The Inventor of GasTurb
My name is Joachim Kurzke and I live in Dachau, a small town near to Munich in Germany. I am a gas turbine performance specialist and a hobby programmer. My gas turbine performance expertise originates from my time at the Institute of Flight Propulsion at the Technical University of Munich, and working 28 years in the performance department of the company which is now MTU Aero Engines as well as from cooperation with experts in international working groups (AGARD, SAE, EU Projects). The highlight of my engineering life at MTU was the participation in the EJ200 development, the engine of the Eurofighter Typhoon. This exciting time began in 1986 during the preliminary design phase. I was at the testbed when in 1989 the very first EJ200 development engine made its successful maiden run. Later I was head of the international EJ200 performance working group which consisted of engineers from Rolls Royce (UK), MTU (Germany), FIAT Avio, (Italy) and ITP (Spain). In 1993 I was promoted to head of the MTU performance department.
For more nearly 30 years I presented at the annual Turbo Expo, at the ISABE conferences since 2005, and at the GPPS conferences 2020, 2022 and 2023. In 2024 I got the ASME IGTI Outstanding Service Award for my contributions, commitment and service to the Aircraft Engine Committee.