Florian Huber

Prof. Dr. Florian Huber serves as Professor of Data Science and Visual Analytics at the Department of Media, Faculty of Media, Hochschule Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences (HSD), a position held since September 2021. He is additionally affiliated with the Center for Digitalization and Digitality (ZDD), where he bridges data science methodologies with real-world applications in scientific and cultural domains through machine learning and visualization techniques.

His academic foundation includes:

• Diploma in Physics, University of Leipzig
• PhD in Biological Physics, University of Leipzig (2012), thesis: "Emergent structure formation of the actin cytoskeleton"

Prior to HSD, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at AMOLF (Amsterdam) and TU Delft, founded the sustainable sweets company KÄNDI, and served as Data Scientist at the Netherlands eScience Center (2018-2021).

Huber's research focuses on developing data science algorithms for comparative analysis of complex datasets, combining machine learning with domain expertise to enable meaningful comparisons through latent space transformations. Key areas include mass spectrometry-based metabolomics (chemical identification/similarity prediction), natural language processing (e.g., lyrical evolution analysis), and audio data science, with emphasis on interpretable and reproducible computational approaches for biology, medicine, and cultural studies.

Analysis of his 2023-2025 publications reveals dominant themes in mass spectrometry data science (tools like matchms, MS2Query, Mass2SMILES) and NLP applications in musicology. His work increasingly integrates deep learning for cross-domain similarity prediction while creating educational resources, reflecting a trend toward versatile open-source solutions for interdisciplinary data challenges.

Huber actively contributes to open science through GitHub repositories and reproducible pipelines, suggesting collaborative funding models centered on software sustainability. His teaching includes the "Data Science" module (MMI 05.35) with practical components for engineering programs, offered in German or English.

He leads initiatives within HSD's Center for Digitalization and Digitality, fostering collaborations between data scientists and domain experts. Current projects involve interdisciplinary teams tackling metabolomics, cultural analytics, and educational tool development using Python-based open-source ecosystems, with future work likely expanding into new application domains while advancing methodological rigor.