Roman Franz Froschauer is a Professor of Production Informatics at the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences, Research Center Wels. Since 2018, he has served as Director of Studies for the Master's program in Robotic Systems Engineering and leads the Smart Automation & Robotics research group. His career spans academic and industrial roles, including senior software development and project management at AlpinaTec Technical Products GmbH (2010-2016). Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science (2010) from Johannes Kepler University Linz; Master's in Industrial Informatics (2005) from Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences. Research Areas: Software engineering for intelligent automation systems, human-robot interaction (HRI), control systems, and applications of IEC 61499 standards. His work focuses on proactive collaboration, trajectory planning, and user-centered design for assistive robots in office and industrial settings. Scientific Activities: Active in peer-review, conference organization, and technology development. Projects include VRoboCoop (human-robot trust), MARIE (office robotics), and Autility (automated utility vehicles). Key Contributions: Frameworks for modular manufacturing (PlugBot), skill-based engineering, and intralogistics automation (ATLAS).
Patric Genfer is a researcher in the Faculty of Computer Science specializing in Software Architecture with a focus on microservice systems. His work combines static code analysis , component modeling , and repository mining to address architectural challenges in distributed systems. Active in microservice architecture and code-model consistency Co-developed detector-based abstraction frameworks for architectural evolution Published in top venues like Empirical Software Engineering and ECSA Recent research includes security tactics in microservice APIs and metric visualization for software portfolios . He received two major awards: the Best Paper Award (2021) and Distinguished Open Artifact Award (2024). Collaborates with experts like Uwe Zdun, Cesare Pautasso, and Wilhelm Hasselbring. Scientific Awards: Best Paper Award (2021) Distinguished Open Artifact Award (2024) Participated in international conferences (ECSA 2024, WICSA 2021) and presented work on data exposure prevention and software quality metrics in microservice environments.
Andreas Stollwitzer is a researcher affiliated with the Research Area Steel Construction at TU Wien. His academic titles include Univ.Ass. (University Assistant), Dipl.-Ing. (Diplom-Ingenieur), and Dr.techn. (Doctor of Technical Sciences). His research focuses on railway bridge dynamics, track-bridge interaction, and structural health monitoring. Key areas of investigation include the behavior of ballasted tracks on railway bridges, dynamic characteristics of bridge-track systems, and vibration analysis in high-speed rail infrastructure. His work emphasizes experimental and numerical methods to study phenomena such as longitudinal/lateral track-bridge interaction, dynamic stiffness and damping measurement, and destabilization of ballast beds under vertical vibrations. He has contributed to projects like DYS-GROS, analyzing the dynamic interaction between track components and bridge structures through both simulations and in-situ testing. Recent publications (2021–2023) highlight advancements in damping factor calculations, comparison of vehicle-bridge interaction approaches, and the application of indirect structural health monitoring techniques using vehicle-based sensors. His findings aim to improve bridge safety, reduce computational uncertainties in dynamic analyses, and optimize railway infrastructure design under high-speed conditions. He collaborates with institutions and researchers in Austria and internationally, focusing on railway engineering challenges. While no formal awards are listed, his extensive publication record reflects significant contributions to civil engineering dynamics and infrastructure systems.
Professor Jeffrey Kramer is a distinguished academic at Imperial College London, where he currently serves as Professor in Distributed Computing within the Department of Computing, Faculty of Engineering. With a career spanning over four decades at Imperial College, he has held numerous leadership positions including Senior Dean (2009-2012), Dean of the Faculty of Engineering (2006-2009), and Head of the Department of Computing (1999-2004). Professor Kramer's research focuses on software engineering, particularly in distributed computing, requirements engineering, software architecture, and self-managing adaptive systems. His work on the Darwin Software Architecture led to commercial implementation by Philips in consumer television products. He has been a principal investigator in research projects developing the CONIC and DARWIN environments for distributed programming. His publication portfolio includes over 200 refereed journal and conference papers along with two influential books: 'Distributed Systems and Computer Networks' (1986) and 'Concurrency: State Models & Java Programs' (1999, 2nd ed. 2006). His most cited works address software architecture, dynamic reconfiguration, and adaptive systems, demonstrating a consistent research trajectory focused on foundational aspects of distributed software systems. FREng Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2008) ACM SIGSOFT Outstanding Research Award (2005, joint with Prof. Magee) ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Service Award (2011) Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (2006-2009) Most Influential Paper Award at ICSE 2003 IEE Informatics Premium prize (1998/99) Professor Kramer has served on over 50 international conference committees in the last decade and has delivered numerous keynote addresses globally. His industrial collaborations include work with BP, BT, NATS, Fujitsu, Barclays Capital, QinetiQ, Kodak, Microsoft, and Philips. He has also served as an expert witness for major law firms and has been involved in numerous research collaborations and consulting engagements.
Karsten Schulz is a Professor in the Department of Hydrology and Water Management at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna. His research focuses on hydrological processes in alpine environments, remote sensing applications, and machine learning-driven environmental modeling. He leads studies on snow cover dynamics, groundwater recharge, and the integration of big data into hydrological systems analysis. Teaching responsibilities include courses on geoecology, hydrology, and uncertainties in water flow modeling. His research emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, combining field observations with advanced computational methods to address challenges in climate change, water resource management, and sustainable agriculture. Recent work highlights include regional-scale assessments of Austrian water balance components, the application of superconducting gravimeters for snowpack monitoring, and the development of machine learning models for soil hydraulic property prediction. He collaborates internationally on projects involving transboundary hydrology and agricultural sustainability in East Africa. Consultation hours are held weekly (except cancellations), and his lab (iHYWA) focuses on hydrological innovation for environmental resilience. Research outputs span over 50 peer-reviewed articles since 2018, addressing topics from snow hydrology to AI-driven water temperature forecasting.
Thomas Gärtner is a Professor at the Institute of Logic and Computation within the Faculty of Informatics at Vienna University of Technology, leading the Machine Learning research group (E194-06). His work bridges theoretical machine learning with practical applications in chemistry, biology, and network analysis. His primary research focuses on graph neural networks (GNNs) and geometric deep learning, with significant contributions to GNN expressivity, graph transformations, and kernel methods for structured data. He explores fundamental questions about the limitations of message-passing architectures while developing practical enhancements like path-based extensions and expectation-complete representations. His chemical informatics work applies these techniques to binding affinity prediction, reaction classification, and solvent selection, demonstrating real-world impact in computational chemistry. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications (2023-2025) reveals three dominant research thrusts: theoretical GNN advancements (35% of articles), chemical informatics applications (40%), and novel learning frameworks (25%). The theoretical work increasingly addresses expressivity limitations through graph transformations and path-based approaches, while chemical applications show growing sophistication in molecular representation. Recent publications also indicate expanding interest in foundation models for graphs and robustness verification. He actively supervises master's students including Fabian Traxler (binding affinity prediction), Maximilian Plattner (SGD optimization), Fabian Jogl (graph transformations), and Thomas Schmied (reinforcement learning). His research is conducted through the Network Lab at TU Wien, where he serves as Principal Investigator for the Structured Data Learning with Generalized Similarities project.
Professor Martin Schroder is a leading materials chemist currently serving as Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Manchester. He previously held executive and academic roles at the University of Nottingham (1995-2015) and the University of Edinburgh (1982-1995), culminating in his appointment as Professor of Chemistry at Manchester (2015-present). His career spans over four decades with significant contributions to porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for energy and environmental applications. PhD in Chemistry from Imperial College London (1978) BSc in Chemistry from the University of Sheffield (1975) Professor Schroder's research focuses on materials chemistry , particularly metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for gas separation and capture. His work addresses CO2 reduction , toxic gas removal , and proton conductivity through innovative framework design and functionalization. Recent publications highlight MOF applications for hydrogen storage , SO2 capture , and NO2 conversion . His 15 most recent publications (2016-2020) demonstrate sustained expertise in porous materials engineering , showing consistent focus on gas adsorption mechanisms , supramolecular interactions , and environmental remediation through MOF technology. Key trends include CO2 selectivity , dynamic framework behavior , and electrochemical sensor development . Awarded numerous honors including: Royal Society of Chemistry Nyholm Prize (2020) Tilden Lectureship & Medal (2001/02) Multiple RSC awards (2003, 2008) Honorary Doctorates (2005, 2017) Fellowships (FRSE, FRSC) He has organized major international conferences like the 1st International Conference on Metal-Organic Frameworks (2008) and led the Royal Society Discussion Meeting on 'The New Chemistry of the Elements' (2014). His work bridges fundamental inorganic chemistry with practical solutions for clean air technologies and carbon capture .
Anne-Marie Kermarrec is a Senior Researcher at INRIA (France), with prior roles at Microsoft Research (UK) and the University of Rennes 1 (France). Her work focuses on decentralized systems, including gossip protocols, peer-to-peer networks, social networks, and collaborative filtering. PhD in Computer Science (Rennes, 1996) Her research spans epidemic algorithms, content-based search in large-scale networks, and scalable group communication. She pioneered gossip-based peer sampling and multicast infrastructures like Scribe and SplitStream. Her publications highlight applications in decentralized news recommendation (AllYours), network coding, and privacy-preserving social platforms (Gossple). Key article trends include gossip protocols , P2P systems , social network analysis , decentralized storage , and collaborative filtering . She received the Michel Monpetit Award (2011), ERC Starting Grant (GOSSPLE, 2008-2013), and an ICDCS Best Paper Award (2010). Michel Monpetit Award (2011) ERC PoC AllYours (2013) ERC Starting Grant GOSSPLE (2008-2013) ICDCS Best Paper Award (2010) Kermarrec led program committees for major conferences (e.g., EuroSys, Middleware) and chaired the ACM Software System Award. Her software contributions include AllYours (news recommender), GossipLib (gossip library), and GossipPeer (P2P platform maintenance).
Prof. Azra Korjenic is a University Professor at TU Wien's E207-03 Research Area for Ecological Construction Technologies. Her work focuses on sustainable building practices, green infrastructure, and ecological materials. Current research includes facade greening systems, thermal insulation properties of natural materials, and urban climate mitigation strategies. She leads over 10 active projects including 'Urban Straw' (fire-resistant straw insulation) and 'Green Residential & Nursing Homes'. Recent publications (2023) address topics like stabilized earth bricks with agricultural waste reinforcement, viability of indoor moss walls, and financing green school infrastructure in Austria. Her work bridges engineering, environmental science, and urban planning to advance resource-efficient construction methods. No scientific awards explicitly listed in provided texts. Research focuses heavily on applied sustainability with particular expertise in moisture regulation, hygrothermal performance, and building physics. Active in cross-disciplinary collaborations through networks like natuREbuilt, targeting regenerative and resilient building components.
Prof. Dietmar Winkler is a Lecturer at TU Wien's Department of Information Systems Engineering, specializing in Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS) and Software Engineering. His work focuses on integrating safety, security, and quality aspects into production systems through model-driven engineering and agile practices. He contributes to Industry 4.0 initiatives, particularly in asset-based risk mitigation and knowledge graph frameworks for security analysis. Research interests include: production systems engineering, cyber-physical systems, test-driven validation, model integration, and software quality intelligence. His publications emphasize multi-view modeling, traceability pipelines, and empirical studies on test code readability. Recent work explores security-log analysis via knowledge graphs (VloGraph), test scenario validation using design models, and efficient FMEA re-validation in agile environments. He co-leads projects on digital production system safety and coordinates multi-disciplinary engineering artifacts. Active in academic communities, he organizes conferences like Software Quality: The Next Big Thing. His contributions bridge theory and practice in systems engineering, with a focus on improving software development processes in complex industrial settings.
Ramin Hasani is a researcher at TU Wien's Cyber-Physical Systems department. He holds a Dr.techn. (Doctor of Engineering) and specializes in machine learning applications for robotics, control systems, and biologically-inspired neural networks. His work focuses on developing interpretable neural architectures like Liquid Time-Constant Networks and Neural Circuit Policies, emphasizing safety and stability in autonomous systems. Hasani's research bridges neural network theory with practical robotics challenges, including autonomous racing, medical data analysis, and adversarial robustness. Key research areas include continuous-time neural networks, formal verification of neural ODEs, and bio-inspired control mechanisms derived from biological neural circuits (e.g., Caenorhabditis elegans). He collaborates extensively with institutions like MIT and ETH Zurich, contributing to projects in health-monitoring systems and end-to-end robot learning frameworks. His publications consistently address real-world challenges such as sepsis prediction via reinforcement learning and robust CNN architectures for image classification. Recent work highlights include developing stable recurrent networks through Gershgorin loss functions and advancing zero-shot transfer learning for autonomous systems. Hasani's interdisciplinary approach integrates principles from neuroscience, control theory, and machine learning to create auditable, high-performance AI solutions for cyber-physical environments.
Martin Tschikof is a researcher at the Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management within the Department of Ecosystem Management, Climate and Biodiversity at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU). He currently coordinates the strategic cooperation between BOKU and the Environment Agency Austria (2024), with prior roles including Research Associate at BOKU (2018), WasserCluster Lunz (2018-2019), and guest researcher at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) in Germany (2022). His doctoral dissertation (2020-2024) examined floodplain restoration impacts on water purification and multifunctionality in the Danube River Basin. His academic qualifications include: MSc. in Limnology and Wetland Management (2016-2018) from the joint program of BOKU University, IHE Delft, and Egerton University BSc. in Biology (Ecology) (2012-2016) from the University of Vienna Tschikof specializes in floodplain and restoration ecology , biogeochemistry , and ecosystem services multifunctionality , with fieldwork spanning Austria, Germany, and Danube Basin countries. His research integrates hydrological modeling, nutrient cycling analysis (particularly nitrogen and phosphorus retention), and socio-ecological frameworks to evaluate wetland management outcomes. Recent work emphasizes quantifying restoration trade-offs between regulating services (water purification) and cultural services (recreation, biodiversity) using basin-scale assessments. Publication trends (2020-2025) reveal consistent focus on floodplain multifunctionality indicators, denitrification modeling, and EU project applications (Restore4Life, DANUBE4all). Key themes include proxy-based assessment tools for restoration decision-making, socio-ecohydrological system evolution, and transnational prioritization of conservation areas using ecosystem service trade-off analysis. His scientific recognition includes: Reinhard Liepolt-Prize for Danube Research (2024) from the Austrian Committee of the International Association for Danube Research While no formal students or grants are documented, Tschikof has delivered 23 international lectures since 2019 across Austria (8), Germany (7), and six other nations, often as keynote speaker for Danube restoration initiatives. He actively contributes to EU Horizon projects, particularly Restore4Life's citizen science component for wetland assessment. He operates within BOKU's Hydrobiology Institute alongside WasserCluster Lunz and Leibniz IGB collaborators, focusing on the Danube River Basin. Current efforts prioritize upscaling floodplain restoration metrics through EU-funded consortia and developing practical tools for water quality management agencies.
Sara Reichenbach is a researcher and Deputy Institute Director at the Institute of Building Construction, Timber Construction and Circular Construction, Department of Landscape, Water and Infrastructure, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU). She holds a Dr.techn. and Dipl.-Ing. in civil engineering from TU Wien and has held postdoctoral positions at both TU Wien and BOKU. Her work bridges structural engineering, sustainable construction, and digital fabrication. Research Interests: Her research focuses on resource-efficient building construction, particularly in concrete and timber systems. She investigates topology optimization, life cycle analysis (LCA), additive manufacturing of bio-based materials, FRP reinforcement, and the development of reusable, circular building components. Her work aims to reduce environmental impacts while enhancing structural performance and economic viability in prefabricated construction. Publication Trends: Her recent publications reflect a strong trend toward sustainable and digital construction, emphasizing 3D printing of recyclable walls (3DP BIOWALLS), topology-optimized concrete elements, and the use of renewable and FRP materials. The integration of automation, robotics, and computational design is a recurring theme, aligning with Industry 4.0 principles in construction. Scientific Awards: FSV-Preis für Diplomarbeit (2013): For her thesis on load testing of existing prestressed concrete bridge girders to assess shear capacity. Advising and Grants: She supervises master's theses on topics such as life cycle assessment of 3DP Biowalls and automated production strategies. She is actively involved in research projects funded by FFG and EU sources, including the 'Additive manufacturing of fully-recyclable wall systems made from renewable materials' project led by Benjamin Kromoser. She also serves as a reviewer for journals like Applied Sciences and Scientific Reports , and as an expert in the ÖBV working group on non-metallic reinforcement. Labs and Teams: She is part of the research team at the Institute of Building Construction, Timber Construction and Circular Construction at BOKU, collaborating closely with Prof. Benjamin Kromoser. The team operates in a multidisciplinary environment focusing on innovative construction technologies, with access to advanced digital fabrication and structural testing facilities.
Michael Grobbauer is a Professor and Senior Researcher at the Center for Alpine Construction within the Design and Green Engineering framework at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. He has been active since 2012, with a focus on sustainable building practices and energy-efficient urban development. Key research areas: Sustainable Construction, Building Energy Modeling, Timber Engineering, Renewable Energy Integration His recent work explores parametric timber solutions and energy performance certificate-based urban modeling , contributing to climate-resilient building systems. He has published 42 works, including 2023 Energy journal articles and 2022 conference papers on modular construction. Salzburg State Architecture Prize (2006) Inventor of Graz University of Technology (2013) Salzburg Timber Construction Award (2007) IOC/IAKS Special Distinction (2007) Active in projects like ScaleUp_ZAB (2023–2025), Grobbauer leads initiatives in solid timber construction and photovoltaic integration . He has reviewed 14 publications and presented at events including the 2024 Austrian PV Conference.
Ignacio David Lopez Miguel is a PreDoc Researcher at the Cyber-Physical Systems department of Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien). His research focuses on formal verification techniques for safety-critical systems, particularly in the context of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) used in industrial and high-stakes environments like CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) cooling systems. Current projects include TAIGER (2023–2027), addressing neural network verification for PLC code. Collaborates with institutions such as CERN, GSI, and NASA on safety-critical control systems. Research Themes : Integration of formal verification with AI/ML components Runtime enforcement in cyber-physical systems Ethical considerations in engineering design Automated translation of natural language requirements to formal specifications His work spans interdisciplinary domains, connecting computer science, control theory, and engineering ethics through rigorous verification methodologies.
