From the laudation:

“Through his life's work, Dietbert Knöfel successfully introduced mineralogical methods and concepts into applied scientific disciplines. (...) In 1980, he founded the Laboratory for Building Materials and Construction Chemistry at the University of Applied Sciences in Siegen, which gained an outstanding international reputation. In 1993, he was appointed Full Professor at the University of Siegen. Throughout his scientific career, Professor Knöfel devoted his research to the full spectrum of construction materials, their corrosion, corrosion protection, and restoration. (...)

Dietbert Knöfel has made exceptional contributions to Applied Mineralogy in both research and teaching.”