Heiner Ryssel is one of the pioneers and leading experts in the field of semiconductor technology in Germany. In particular, he was instrumental in transferring the ion implantation process to industrial use.

After studying electrical engineering and earning his doctorate at the Technical University of Munich, Heiner Ryssel worked at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solid State Technology in Munich. In 1985, he was appointed to the Chair of Electron Devices (LEB) at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), one of the two founding chairs on the road to Bavaria's "Silicon Valley". In the same year, he became director of the Fraunhofer Working Group for Integrated Circuits, Department of Device Technology, which gave rise to today's Fraunhofer IISB, which he directed until his retirement in 2008.

Educating the next generation and promoting enthusiasm for semiconductor technology have always been of particular concern to Heiner Ryssel. His dedication to teaching included lectures at the Virtual University of Bavaria in addition to a wide range of courses at FAU. He played a significant role in the modernization of the "Electrical Engineering - Electronics - Information Technology" course and in the implementation of the Mechatronics course at FAU.

Heiner Ryssel has received numerous awards for his work, including the Fraunhofer Medal, the Wilhelm Exner Medal and the appointment as Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).