Prof. Stefan Leutenegger is a tenure-track Assistant Professor at Technische Universität München (TUM), leading the Machine Learning for Robotics group within the TUM School of Computation, Information, and Technology. Previously, he held roles as Senior Lecturer (2018–2021) and Lecturer (2014–2018) at Imperial College London's Dyson Robotics Lab, where he founded the Smart Robotics Lab. He earned his PhD (2014) from ETH Zurich, focusing on autonomous solar-powered aircraft navigation, and holds BSc (2006) and MSc (2009) in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zurich. His research centers on mobile robotics, particularly enabling robots (e.g., drones) to perceive and navigate complex environments using machine learning and sensor data fusion. Key focus areas include SLAM, event-based vision, 3D reconstruction, and autonomous exploration. He has pioneered algorithms like BRISK (2011), OKVIS (2014), and ElasticFusion (2016), advancing real-time robotics perception. Notable Awards: Imperial College President's Award (2018), Best ECCV Paper (2016), ETH Medal for Dissertations (2015). Labs: TUM's Machine Learning for Robotics Group, Imperial's Smart Robotics Lab. Publications: Over 100 papers, including seminal works in CVPR, ECCV, and Robotics: Science and Systems. Current projects include DigiForests (forest inventory via robotics), aerial additive manufacturing, and object-centric semantic mapping. His work bridges theory and practice, with applications in autonomous drones, construction robotics, and human-robot interaction.
Jonas Fischer is the head of the Explainable Machine Learning group at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Department of Computer Vision and Machine Learning. His research focuses on interpreting complex machine learning models, particularly in genomics and healthcare, aiming to enhance robustness and alignment with human decision-making. Prior to his role at MPI, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University's Department of Biostatistics, where he worked on interpretable models for gene regulatory systems in cancer. Education: PhD in Computer Science from Saarland University (2022), with a thesis titled More than the sum of its parts , exploring the intersection of pattern mining and deep learning. He has contributed to advancing methods in neural network pruning, federated learning, and low-dimensional embeddings (e.g., dtSNE, Mercat). His work bridges computational biology, data mining, and machine learning, with applications in DNA methylation analysis, graph-based differential networks, and biomedical informatics. Key research areas include: (1) Explainable AI and neural network interpretability, (2) Biomedical applications of machine learning (e.g., gene regulatory networks, cancer genomics), (3) Low-dimensional embeddings and visualization techniques, (4) Federated learning for privacy-preserving collaborative models, and (5) Pattern mining for error analysis in NLP and classification tasks. Publications span top venues like NeurIPS, ICLR, Bioinformatics, and Genome Biology. His group develops tools such as BONOBO for omics data integration and node2vec2rank for scalable graph analysis. He actively collaborates with biomedical researchers to address challenges in data-driven healthcare and precision medicine.
Prof. Dr. Dennis Säring is a faculty member at the University of Applied Sciences Wedel , specifically affiliated with the School of Engineering. His academic and research activities focus on Deep Learning , Medical Image Analysis , and applications of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare and biomedical imaging. He has led seminars on Deep Learning topics and supervised student projects in Autonomous Driving at Audi's AADC 2018 competition. Research Highlights : Cardiovascular imaging, forensic age estimation via MRI, neural network-based bone segmentation, and cerebrovascular aneurysm analysis. Technical Expertise : Cardiac MRI, 3D/4D image processing, parametric mapping, and spatiotemporal data fusion. His recent publications (2018-2023) emphasize 3D MR segmentation for age assessment, CMR strain analysis in athletes, and T1/T2 mapping for myocarditis. Key collaborations include institutions like the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and Wedler Hochschulbund, with funding for autonomous vehicle research. While no explicit scientific awards are listed, his work spans clinical cardiology, forensic radiology, and AI-driven medical diagnostics.
Christoph Keplinger serves as Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) in Stuttgart, Germany, leading the Robotic Materials Department since 2020 and assuming overall institute leadership in 2023. He holds dual academic appointments as Honorary Professor at the University of Stuttgart and Eminent Visiting Professor of Soft Robotics at the University of Colorado Boulder, establishing him as a pivotal figure in bridging fundamental materials science with advanced robotics. His interdisciplinary approach integrates physics, chemistry, and engineering to pioneer breakthroughs in soft robotic systems. Keplinger's academic foundation includes a PhD in Soft Matter Physics from Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria, followed by postdoctoral research at Harvard University focusing on mechanics and chemistry of soft materials. This unique background enabled his transition into robotics innovation, particularly in electrohydraulic actuation systems. His research program centers on three synergistic pillars: (I) soft robotics development through novel actuator technologies like HASEL artificial muscles; (II) energy capture mechanisms using soft materials; and (III) functional polymers engineered for robotic applications. This work produces transformative hardware that mimics biological functionality, with significant implications for human-robot interaction, medical devices, and sustainable robotics systems. His group employs cutting-edge materials synthesis and characterization techniques to create lifelike robotic components. Analysis of recent publications reveals dominant trends in wearable haptic interfaces, electrohydraulic actuation systems, and tremor-suppression technologies. The research consistently leverages HASEL (Hydraulically Amplified Self-healing Electrostatic) technology to achieve muscle-like performance in soft actuators, with applications spanning from fingertip haptic feedback to underwater manipulation systems. This trajectory demonstrates a clear progression from fundamental material properties toward practical implementations in medical rehabilitation and human augmentation. His exceptional contributions have earned prestigious recognition: 2017 Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, awarded for high-impact interdisciplinary research 2021 Alexander von Humboldt Professorship (declined to remain at MPI-IS), Germany's most valuable international research award 2013 EAPromising European Researcher Award from the European Scientific Network for Artificial Muscles As principal investigator, Keplinger leads a dynamic interdisciplinary research group while securing competitive funding for frontier projects. His entrepreneurial vision materialized in 2018 through co-founding Artimus Robotics, where he serves as Chief Science Officer to commercialize HASEL technology. This dual commitment to academic research and industry translation exemplifies his dedication to real-world impact, particularly in creating biodegradable and sustainable soft robotic solutions. The Robotic Materials Department operates state-of-the-art facilities for materials fabrication, robotic integration, and haptic interface development. The team maintains strong collaborations across MPI-IS departments and external institutions including the University of Colorado Boulder, fostering innovation in sustainable robotics through initiatives like biodegradable electrohydraulic actuators. Current projects focus on wearable tremor suppression systems, electrohydraulic locomotion platforms, and energy-autonomous soft robots that address critical challenges in medical rehabilitation and human augmentation.
Francesca De Benetti is a Researcher at the Chair of Computer Aided Medical Procedures (Prof. Navab) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory (IFL) and NARVIS Lab at the Garching Campus. Her research focuses on Nuclear Medicine and Machine Learning for medical image processing, particularly in internal radiation therapy simulations and AI-driven segmentation. Education : M.Sc. in Biomedical Computing (TUM, 2018-2020), B.Sc. in Information Engineering (Università di Padova, 2015-2018) Francesca's recent publications highlight her work in Monte Carlo dosimetry , dynamic PET tracer modeling , and deep learning-based anomaly detection in medical imaging. Her projects emphasize personalized radiation therapy and cross-modality image translation , often involving collaborations with nuclear medicine experts and radiologists. She contributes to teaching at TUM, leading lectures and practical courses on topics including Medical Augmented Reality , Computer Aided Medical Procedures , and Deep Learning for Medical Applications . Francesca is actively involved in labs such as the IFL Lab and NARVIS Lab , focusing on interdisciplinary applications of computer vision and generative AI in medicine.
Teruko Mitamura is a prominent researcher at Carnegie Mellon University with over three decades of contributions to natural language processing, computational linguistics, and artificial intelligence. Her work spans from foundational research in event representation to advanced applications in multimodal systems and question answering. Her research interests focus on event detection and understanding, question answering systems, information retrieval, and multimodal processing. She has made significant contributions to event coreference resolution, timeline construction, and cross-document event analysis, developing methodologies that have become standard in the field. Her work often bridges theoretical advances with practical applications, particularly in complex information environments requiring deep semantic understanding. Natural Language Processing : Specializing in event extraction, coreference resolution, and narrative understanding with over 179 publications Question Answering Systems : Developing advanced techniques for complex question answering, particularly through NTCIR QA Lab and PoliInfo tasks Multimodal Processing : Integrating textual, visual, and temporal information for richer understanding in systems like ProMQA Evaluation Methodologies : Creating robust frameworks for assessing NLP systems through TAC KBP Event Tracks Her recent publication trends show a strong focus on leveraging large language models for event understanding, multimodal question answering, and timeline construction. She has expanded her research into specialized domains including patent analysis and novelty examination, demonstrating the breadth of her research impact across academic and practical applications. Active participant in major NLP conferences including ACL, EMNLP, NAACL, and AAAI with consistent publications Long-standing collaborator with researchers at CMU's Language Technologies Institute including Eduard H. Hovy and Eric Nyberg Contributor to shared tasks that have shaped research directions in event processing and question answering Organizer of multiple NTCIR QA Lab tasks focused on political information question answering Dr. Mitamura has mentored numerous researchers who have gone on to make their own contributions to the field, as evidenced by her extensive co-authorship network and the progression of her former students and collaborators into faculty and research positions. Her work continues to evolve with the field while maintaining her focus on deep semantic understanding of events and narratives.
Dr. Vincent Fortuin is a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and a research group leader at Helmholtz AI in Munich. He leads the Efficient Learning and Probabilistic Inference for Science (ELPIS) group and holds multiple prestigious fellowships including the Branco Weiss Fellowship. His academic affiliations include the TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology, the Konrad Zuse School of Excellence in Reliable AI, and the Munich Center for Machine Learning. Dr. Fortuin earned his BSc in Molecular Life Sciences from the University of Hamburg (2012-2015), followed by an MSc in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics from ETH Zürich (2015-2017), where he received the ETH Excellence Scholarship and the Willi Studer Prize. He completed his PhD in Machine Learning at ETH Zürich (2017-2021) under the supervision of Gunnar Rätsch and Andreas Krause, supported by a Swiss Data Science Center PhD Fellowship. Prior to joining TUM, he was a Research Fellow at St. John's College, University of Cambridge (2022-2023). His research focuses on the intersection of Bayesian statistics and deep learning, specifically developing methods for more robust, data-efficient AI systems with reliable uncertainty estimates. His work addresses critical limitations in standard deep learning approaches, particularly their tendency to be overconfident in predictions and require large datasets for training. He investigates better priors and more efficient inference techniques for Bayesian deep learning, deep generative modeling, meta-learning, and PAC-Bayesian theory, with applications in scientific and biomedical domains. Dr. Fortuin's recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on improving uncertainty quantification in deep learning systems, with increasing emphasis on practical applications in scientific contexts. His work spans from theoretical foundations of Bayesian deep learning to practical implementations in protein design, materials science, and medical applications. A notable trend is his exploration of how to make Bayesian methods more scalable and applicable to modern large-scale AI systems while maintaining theoretical guarantees. Branco Weiss Fellowship (2023) St John's College Research Fellowship (2022) Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoc.Mobility Fellowship (2022) Swiss Data Science Center PhD Fellowship (2018) ETH Excellence Scholarship (2015) Willi Studer Award (2018) Dr. Fortuin actively supervises PhD and Master's students through his ELPIS research group at Helmholtz AI. He serves as a regular reviewer and area chair for major machine learning conferences and is an action editor for TMLR. He co-organizes the Symposium on Advances in Approximate Bayesian Inference (AABI) and the ICBINB initiative, demonstrating his commitment to advancing the field through community building. His research group receives funding from multiple sources including Helmholtz AI, the Branco Weiss Fellowship, and collaborations with international institutions. Dr. Fortuin leads the Efficient Learning and Probabilistic Inference for Science (ELPIS) group at Helmholtz AI, which focuses on fundamental machine learning research motivated by real-world scientific problems. The group collaborates extensively with researchers across Helmholtz centers and international institutions, particularly in biomedical applications where reliable uncertainty estimates are crucial.
Nasir M. Rajpoot is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Warwick, UK. His research focuses on computational pathology, medical image analysis, and deep learning applications in histology. He leads interdisciplinary projects integrating artificial intelligence with healthcare, particularly in cancer diagnostics and pathology workflows. Rajpoot’s work emphasizes developing robust algorithms for histology image analysis, including nuclear segmentation, tumor classification, and domain generalization in computational pathology. His contributions include the TIAToolbox, an open-source framework for tissue image analytics, and the CoNIC Challenge to advance nuclear detection and counting in histology images. He collaborates with clinicians and biologists to translate AI models into clinical practice, addressing challenges like tumor heterogeneity and staining variability. Rajpoot’s research spans colorectal, lung, and oral cancers, with a focus on predicting clinical outcomes via histological features and genomic data integration. Notable projects include the development of Handcrafted Histological Transformer (H2T) for unsupervised representations of whole slide images and the SAFRON framework for histology image synthesis. His work addresses domain adaptation, robustness evaluation, and explainability in AI-driven pathology systems.
Franziska Mueller is a Research Scientist at Google Zurich , specializing in Augmented Perception . Prior to joining Google, she earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science at Saarland University under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Christian Theobalt, focusing on real-time hand reconstruction from RGB and depth images. Ph.D. in Computer Science (2016-2020) at Saarland University Master’s and Bachelor’s in Computer Science at Saarland University Research visits at Stanford University (2018) and Reality Labs Research (2019) Her research emphasizes the integration of model-based techniques and machine learning components for real-time 3D hand pose estimation, occlusion handling, and hand-object interaction tracking. Key contributions include methods for single-camera reconstruction and datasets like HandSeg. Scientific Awards : Dr. Eduard Martin Award (2021) Google PhD Fellowship (2017) Günter-Hotz-Medal (2016) Bachelor Award (2015) Völklinger Abiturpreis (2012)
Joachim Weickert is a Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Saarland University where he heads the Mathematical Image Analysis Group since 2001. He received his diploma and Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Kaiserslautern (1991, 1996), and a habilitation degree in computer science from the University of Mannheim (2001). Prior to his current position, he worked as a research assistant at the University of Kaiserslautern, as a post-doctoral researcher at the universities of Utrecht and Copenhagen, and as an assistant professor at the University of Mannheim. His research focuses on image processing, computer vision, and scientific computing, with special emphasis on techniques based on partial differential equations, variational principles, wavelets, morphological and nonlocal methods, as well as neuroexplicit approaches. He has developed mathematical models and efficient numerical algorithms for image restoration, enhancement, segmentation, compression, optic flow computation, stereo reconstruction, shape from shading, and signal processing methods for tensor fields. These ideas have been successfully applied in industry, biomedical image analysis, and other fields. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong trend toward combining traditional PDE-based methods with modern deep learning approaches, particularly in the areas of image inpainting and compression. His work increasingly explores the connections between numerical algorithms for partial differential equations and neural network architectures, demonstrating how mathematical foundations can inform cutting-edge AI techniques while maintaining strong theoretical guarantees. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize (2010), considered the most important research award in Germany ERC Advanced Grant (2017) for "Inpainting-based Compression of Visual Data" Elected member of Academia Europaea - The Academy of Europe Jan Koenderink Prize for Fundamental Contributions in Computer Vision (2014) Multiple DAGM Prizes and Best Paper Awards throughout his career AAIA Fellow (2021) and Highly Ranked Scholar (2024) distinctions Professor Weickert has supervised over 250 bachelor's and master's theses and initiated the Master Programme in Visual Computing at Saarland University, the first of its kind in Germany taught in English. He has established numerous interdisciplinary collaborations with colleagues from medicine, bioinformatics, pharmacy, physics, mechatronics, and mechanical engineering. As Principal Investigator for Visual Computing within the Multimodal Computing and Interaction Cluster of Excellence, and former dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science (2008-2010), he has played a significant leadership role in advancing visual computing research and education. He heads the Mathematical Image Analysis Group, which has been at the forefront of developing mathematical methods for image analysis. The group maintains strong connections with both theoretical mathematics and practical applications, bridging the gap between fundamental research and real-world implementation across various domains including medical imaging, industrial inspection, and multimedia processing.
Olaf Ronneberger is an associate professor at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and works at Google DeepMind . His research focuses on deep learning architectures , AI applications to scientific problems , and protein structure prediction . He leads seminars on deep learning and 3D image analysis, emphasizing vision-language integration and generative models. His publications include foundational work on U-Net architectures for biomedical image segmentation, AlphaFold 3 for biomolecular interaction prediction, and Gemini models for multimodal AI systems. Key subfields span medical imaging , protein folding , and vision-language models . Co-developer of U-Net , a widely used biomedical image segmentation framework. Contributor to AlphaFold 3 for structural biology. Research on Gemini 1.5/2.5 models for multimodal reasoning.
Mehrdad Salehi is a researcher at the Chair of Computer Science Applications in Medicine at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) . His work focuses on the intersection of computer science and medical imaging, with expertise in ultrasound technology, deep learning, and surgical navigation systems. Key research areas include sonification of medical data, 3D ultrasound reconstruction, and machine learning-based segmentation. He has contributed to innovative projects like PRO-TIP calibration phantoms and ColibriDoc autonomous docking systems. His publications highlight trends in acoustic feedback mechanisms, neural radiance fields for medical imaging, and real-time image analysis. He can be reached at mehrdad.salehi@tum.de .
Dr. Jing Wang is a Professor in the Department of Bioinformatics at Southern Medical University's School of Medicine, with extensive research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and biomedical applications. Her work demonstrates strong cross-disciplinary collaboration across medical institutions, engineering departments, and computer science research groups. Her primary research interests include Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare , Biomedical Engineering , and Traditional Chinese Medicine Informatics , with recent publications showing particular expertise in medical imaging analysis, diagnostic assistance systems, and clinical decision support. Her work spans both theoretical algorithm development and practical clinical implementations. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2025-2026) reveals a strong trend toward clinically applicable AI systems, with approximately 60% of publications focused on medical diagnostics and treatment support systems. The remaining publications demonstrate expertise in industrial applications of computer vision and fundamental AI research. Her work shows consistent collaboration with both domestic Chinese institutions and international research groups. Notable scientific contributions include: Development of 'Tianyi', a traditional Chinese medicine language model for clinical practice Innovations in bionic soft robotics for rehabilitation assistance Novel approaches to medical image analysis for cancer diagnostics Her research program appears well-funded with consistent publication output across high-impact journals in biomedical engineering, AI, and medical informatics. Current work suggests strong emphasis on translating AI research into clinical practice, particularly in diagnostic support systems and rehabilitation technology.
Dieter Uckelmann serves as Professor of Information Logistics and Scientific Director of the Institute for Applied Research at Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences (HFT Stuttgart). He holds multiple leadership positions including Spokesperson for the research focus 'Smart Technologies, Processes and Methods' at HFT Stuttgart since March 2023 and Scientific Director of the Institute for Applied Research since September 2023. His academic journey began with mechanical engineering studies in Braunschweig, followed by doctoral research at the University of Bremen focusing on 'Quantifying the Value of RFID and the EPCglobal Architecture Framework in Logistics.' Uckelmann's research spans Internet of Things applications across Industry 4.0, logistics, smart buildings, and smart cities, with significant contributions to educational technology including learning analytics and AI in teaching. His work bridges technical innovation with practical implementation, particularly in digital transformation of laboratories and smart city infrastructure. He has led numerous research projects including KNIGHT (AI for teaching), InDeckLe (earth composite ceiling systems), iCity initiatives, and DigiLab4U (online laboratories). His publication record shows a clear progression from foundational RFID and IoT research toward emerging technologies like the Industrial Metaverse, 5G applications, and AI-driven educational systems. Recent work demonstrates strong integration of physical and digital systems, particularly in urban environments and educational contexts, with increasing emphasis on sustainability and energy efficiency applications. Co-editor of International Journal of RF-Technologies: Research and Applications Member of PhD Association BW, Research Unit III Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Mentor in the HAWCareer mentoring program Program Committee Member for IEEE RFID, IEEE/ITMC, AIET, and other major conferences Associate Editor for Journal of Online and Biomedical Engineering Professor Uckelmann actively mentors students and researchers, with his team contributing to projects across smart city infrastructure, digital learning platforms, and industrial IoT applications. He leads the Industrie 4.0 Laboratory which focuses on industrial IoT applications, digital twins, and the industrial metaverse, with research spanning RFID, RTLS, wireless sensor networks, AR/VR, and IoT architectures. His work extends to international collaborations including visiting professorships at Auburn University and the University of Parma.
Hao Liu is a researcher affiliated with institutions like Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beihang University , and Stanford University . His work spans Computer Science , Artificial Intelligence , and Robotics . Key affiliations: National Space Science Center (Beijing), School of Astronautics (Beihang), Key Laboratory of Pervasive Computing (Tsinghua) Research interests include Machine Learning , Image Processing , Graph Neural Networks , and Wireless Communication Optimization His recent publications focus on: Advanced control systems for fuzzy models Medical imaging via hyperspectral analysis Transformer-based approaches in NLP and vision Quantum-safe and edge computing protocols
