Fifty-nine-year-old Manfred Meinherz has worked at Siemens for 40 years in the field of high-voltage switchgear. He specialized in the then new area of gas-insulated switch-gears (GIS), which, unlike conventional air-insulated switchgears, use sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) for insulating the electrical conductors. Since the sulfur gas has a higher dielectric strength than air and can thus prevent unwanted voltage flashovers more effectively, GIS systems take up less space. Moreover, switchgears operating on this principle are less prone to faults.
Over the course of his career Meinherz has developed numerous technologies which for the most part build on one another, and with his continuous work he has had a defining influence on the concepts and designs of whole generations of gas-insulated switch-gear. Because of his effort, switchgears have been made more and more efficient, reli-able and compact, undoubtedly contributing to the success of this technology. The In-ventor of the Year 2006 award is therefore not so much an acknowledgement for a par-ticular invention but rather a tribute to his life's work, which has been devoted entirely to GIS switchgear. “I also see the Inventor of the Year award as recognition for my many years of inventive activity in this field,” Meinherz comments.