Iman Awaad

Dr. Iman Awaad is a Lecturer and Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Computer Science, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg (H-BRS), affiliated with the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems (A2S). She holds a PhD from the University of Osnabrück (2025), MSc in Autonomous Systems from H-BRS (2008), and BSc in Computer Science from Rutgers University (1996). As Deputy Director of the b-it Applied Science Institute, she coordinates the Master's program in Autonomous Systems and oversees curriculum development. She also serves as Project & Strategy Manager for the Center for Assistive Technologies Rhein-Ruhr (ZAT Rhein-Ruhr), focusing on pro-adaptive assistive solutions in work, healthcare, and mobility domains funded by €2.7M from the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry.

Her research interests span cognitive robotics, automated planning, human-robot interaction, and assistive technologies. Key contributions include work on robotic task planning systems, affordance-based reasoning, and competitive robotics (RoboCup). She has held leadership roles in international conferences (ICAPS, ICRA) and served on academic committees including the H-BRS Diversity Audit Committee (2018–2020). Notable awards include the Best Master's Thesis (2008) and Mary Somerville Program funding for her lectureship (2023–2025).

Dr. Awaad has supervised multiple master’s theses on topics like object substitution in domestic robotics and HTN planning. She actively contributes to teaching, organizing workshops, and managing research projects such as RoCKIn and XPERO. Her work bridges theoretical robotics research with practical applications in assistive technologies and industrial automation.