The last presentation before Christmas in the Resource Efficiency Colloquium was a St. Nicholas event in a double sense: On 6 December, Professor Nikolaus Thißen introduces himself and his practical experience in his inaugural lecture. The theme was less Christmassy, focused mainly on "hot air" and exhaust emissions: Oversized ventilation and exhaust systems as well as non-optimal process concepts in production, at which a lot of money is being wasted.That exhaust emissions can be pretty expensive for a company, professor Thißen  showed using many practical examples. He has mainly worked in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in recent years. And exhaust emissions as well as their relevance to costs are often overlooked. "Unfavorable exhaust concepts often lead to inefficient  plants and therefore high costs," said Thißen and spoke from personal experience, because many years ago, he moved from plant engineering  to intra-group counseling departments in the chemical industry, where not the largest, but the most efficient and cost-effective facilities were of importance. Here he became acquainted from CIBA to BASF to Bayer to many other well-known companies. In many factories in Europe, Asia or South America, he designed alternative technical concepts with which much emission and exhaust air and therefore a lot of money can be saved or even recover heat is left - to the extreme case in which the investment or operating costs could even be avoided completely , 100% savings. Connected to this were also improvements to the environment: less energy consumption, less release of harmful emissions and often more security and better working conditions for workers. Since the winter term 2012/13 Nikolaus Thißen is professor in the study program resource efficiency management at Pforzheim University and contact person for Sustainable Process Systems Engineering. The decisive factor is the holistic view of production systems. Costly "end of pipe" solutions in the environmental field  in the own production, which  is focused only on isolated solutions, limits the possibilities for improvements significantly. Disadvantage: You have to know something of the technique on the whole and not just be an expert in air, sewage or waste operations. This is Prof. Thißen's basic apporach to his students in the program: "Who is concerned with resource efficiency must be comfortable with technology and with costs. You have to have a good overview and can at least ask the right questions. "The Rhinelander Nicholas Thißen studied in Wuppertal and Duisburg. After completing his PhD in Aachen, he gained over 25 years of professional experience in the energy and environmental technology before being appointed to the University of Pforzheim to the winter term 2012. He joins the team in the course REM and is also active in the Institute of Industrial Ecology. Thißen is thrilled to share his extensive experience and knowledge to the students. "The new program resource efficiency management is the right platform for it," says Nikolaus Thißen. At the college he had the opportunity to expand his knowledge in the context of previous research, to develop projects and to put in industrial environments directly into practice.