Oliver Staadt

Prof. Dr. sc. techn. ETH Oliver Staadt is Full Professor of Computer Science and Chair of Visual Computing at the University of Rostock, Germany. Since 2023 he also serves as Director of the Institute for Visual and Analytic Computing within the Faculty of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Previously he was Dean (2016–2018) and Vice Dean (2010–2016) of the same faculty.

Education

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, ETH Zürich (2001)
• M.Sc. in Computer Science, TU Darmstadt (1994)

Research Interests

Prof. Staadt’s research spans virtual and augmented reality, computer graphics, visualization, telepresence, immersive analytics, and human–computer interaction. A particular focus lies on real-time rendering and display technologies for large high-resolution display systems, depth-image enhancement for RGB-D sensors, and interaction techniques that leverage spatial cognition and eye-tracking. His work is frequently applied to collaborative settings and microgravity environments, including experiments aboard parabolic flights and the International Space Station.

Recent Publication Trends

Between 2019 and 2021 his output centers on foveated rendering, AR viewpoint guidance, collaborative analytics on wall-sized displays, and embodied interaction metaphors. Earlier work addressed bandwidth-efficient telepresence, depth-image filtering, and physically-based animation. The corpus reveals a steady evolution from fundamental graphics algorithms toward applied immersive systems.

Scientific Awards & Honors

• Fellow of the Eurographics Association
• Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (past)
• Associate Editor, Computers & Graphics (past)
• Associate Editor, Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds (past)
• Associate Editor, Frontiers in Virtual Reality (current)
• Chair, Expert Group on Virtual & Augmented Reality, German Informatics Society (2013–2020)

Advising & Funding

He has successfully supervised more than ten PhD graduates whose dissertations range from collision detection and physically-based animation to 3D interaction in microgravity and predictive user modeling. Current PhD researchers include Bipul Mohanto, Mana Takhsha, and Sven Kluge. His projects are supported by national and EU programs such as EVOCATION, SMOOTH, ARGuide, 3DPick, DIVA, and Telepresence.

Labs & Teams

Prof. Staadt leads the Visual Computing Group at Rostock, operating state-of-the-art facilities including large tiled display walls, VR/AR laboratories, and motion-capture systems. The institute hosts interdisciplinary collaborations with partners in visualization, computer vision, psychology, and aerospace engineering.