Wilfried Gansterer is a Professor at the Faculty of Computer Science, University of Vienna, leading the Theory and Applications of Algorithms research group. His work focuses on numerical algorithms, distributed computing, and machine learning, with notable contributions to graph neural networks and fault-tolerant systems. Active in projects such as Algorithmic Data Science for Computational Drug Discovery (2020–2028) and REPEAL (Resilience vs. Performance in Numerical Linear Algebra, 2016–2020). Research Interests: Dr. Gansterer’s expertise spans graph neural networks, matrix compression, adversarial defense mechanisms, and high-performance computing. His work addresses challenges in efficient computation, resilience against node failures, and optimizing distributed systems. Projects : Algorithmic Data Science for Computational Drug Discovery (2020–2028) REPEAL: Resilience vs. Performance in Numerical Linear Algebra (2016–2020) Verteiltes Rechnen (Distributed Computing, 2007–2014) Awards : 2023 Best Paper Award for work on Crossfire: An Elastic Defense Framework for Graph Neural Networks. Labs/Teams : Directs the Theory and Applications of Algorithms group, focusing on algorithmic innovation in distributed and high-performance computing environments.
Robert Peharz is an Assistant Professor at Graz University of Technology, where he leads research at the Institute of Machine Learning and Neural Computation. His work focuses on probabilistic machine learning, with particular emphasis on tractable probabilistic models, causality, and neurosymbolic AI. Education and Career PhD from TU Graz (Austria) in 2015 Postdoc at Medical University of Graz Postdoc and Marie-Curie Individual Fellow at University of Cambridge (2017-2019) Assistant Professor at Eindhoven University of Technology (2019-2021) Current: Assistant Professor at Graz University of Technology Research Interests Peharz's research spans multiple areas of artificial intelligence with a focus on making probabilistic reasoning both theoretically sound and practically efficient. His work addresses fundamental challenges in tractable probabilistic inference and learning, probabilistic circuits as a unified framework for deep generative models, Bayesian causal inference, and neurosymbolic AI combining sub-symbolic and symbolic approaches. His research has applications in cybersecurity, healthcare, and energy systems. Research Projects VENTUS (2024-present): Physics-informed, probabilistic and causal machine learning for wind energy systems NEO DNA (2023-present): DNA-based data storage systems using computer vision and probabilistic ML VanillaFlow (2023-present): AI-guided development of novel vanillin-based molecules for redox flow batteries Bilateral AI : Cluster of Excellence focused on Broad AI combining sub-symbolic and symbolic AI approaches Awards and Recognition Finalist for TUG's Excellent Teaching Award (2023) for all 3 of his courses Marie-Curie Individual Fellow at University of Cambridge Academic Service Peharz is actively involved in the academic community through conference organization and reviewing: Area Chair: UAI (2022), ECML/PKDD (2022) Senior Committee Member: UAI (2021), IJCAI (2019, 2020) Reviewer for major conferences including ICML, NeurIPS, AAAI, IJCAI-ECAI Teaching and Mentorship Peharz supervises multiple PhD students working on diverse projects at the intersection of machine learning, causality, and neurosymbolic AI. His current advisees include Sepideh Adamiat, Irina Dobrianski, Johannes Exenberger, Giacomo Di Gobbi, Tim d'Hondt, Christian Toth, and Thomas Wedenig. Previous students include Alvaro Correia, Martin Trapp, and David Montalvan.
Michael Bronstein is a Professor & Chair in Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition at the Department of Computing, Imperial College London (2018–present). He previously held academic roles including Professor at the University of Lugano, Switzerland (2010–present, on leave since 2019), Visiting Associate Professor at Tel Aviv University (2015–2017), and Visiting Lecturer at Stanford University (2008–2009). His research focuses on geometric methods for data analysis, with applications in machine learning, computer vision, and social networks. PhD in Computer Science (2007), Technion – Israel Institute of Technology His expertise spans geometric machine learning , deep learning on graphs, manifolds, and point clouds , 3D shape analysis , and geometry processing . His work bridges theoretical and computational approaches to solving problems in computer vision , pattern recognition , and 3D depth sensors . 2020 Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal 2018 Fellow, IEEE and IAPR 2016 ERC Consolidator Grant 2014 Young Scientist, World Economic Forum He has led high-impact industrial projects, including the development of Intel RealSense 3D camera technology, and founded startups like Fabula AI (acquired by Twitter in 2019). His academic and entrepreneurial career includes over 150 publications, 30 patents, and leadership roles in both academia and industry.
Torsten Hoefler is a Full Professor of Computer Science at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, with an adjunct appointment in Electrical Engineering. He previously held roles at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Indiana University. Full Professor of Computer Science, ETH Zurich (2020–present) Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering, ETH Zurich (2020–present) Member at Large, ACM SIGHPC Executive Committee (2013–present) Leadership roles in the MPI Forum and Blue Waters project His research focuses on performance-centric system design , with emphasis on scalable networking, parallel programming models, and performance modeling. Key contributions include the Slim Fly network topology, Data-Centric Python framework, and innovations in parallel graph computations and RDMA-based systems. Recent publications span topics like LLM training networks , quantization geometry , chiplet interconnects , and AI-driven climate modeling , reflecting his interdisciplinary approach combining HPC, AI, and hardware-software co-design. ACM Gordon Bell Prize (2019) ERC Consolidator Grant (2020) IEEE TCSC Award for Excellence (2019) SIAM SIAG/SC Junior Scientist Prize (2012) Latsis Prize of ETH Zurich (2015) He has received multiple best paper awards at top conferences (SC10, SC13, SC14, SC19, IPDPS'15, HPDC'15, OOPSLA'16) and contributed to MPI-3 standardization.
Johanna Ullrich is a Professor at the University of Vienna's Faculty of Computer Science and a Key Researcher at SBA Research in Vienna. She leads the Research Group Communication Technologies and serves as Head of the Networks and Critical Infrastructures Security Group at SBA Research. Her academic journey includes positions as Principal Investigator & Manager of Third Party Funded Projects at the University of Vienna and Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Security and Quality Improvement in the Production System Lifecycle. Her educational background includes a PhD sub auspiciis praesidentis in Computer Science from TU Wien (2013-2016), an MSc in Automation Engineering from TU Wien (2010-2013), and a BSc in Electrical Engineering from TU Wien (2007-2010). She also holds a Venia Docendi for Computer Engineering from the University of Vienna. Ullrich's research focuses on the intersection of computer science and classical engineering, with particular emphasis on network security, IPv6 measurement experiments, and critical infrastructure protection. Her groundbreaking work demonstrated vulnerabilities in the IPv6 Privacy Extension that led to modifications in major client operating systems, protecting millions of users. She is renowned for her research on cyber-physical attacks against power grids, showing how coordinated load attacks can destabilize electrical infrastructure. Her work spans both theoretical security frameworks and practical implementations with significant real-world impact. Her publication record reveals a consistent trajectory from fundamental network security research toward increasingly complex interdisciplinary investigations at the boundary of computer science and physical infrastructure. Recent work emphasizes AI/ML applications for network security, power grid resilience, and socio-technical approaches to cybersecurity. Her research demonstrates a progression from protocol-level security (IPv6) to system-level security (cloud, IoT) and now to infrastructure-level security (power grids, critical national infrastructure). 2nd in the Faculty of Computer Science's Best-of-the-Best Ranking 2024 Category Third Party Funding Nomination for the Hedy Lamarr Prize 2019 and 2020 Scholarship of Excellence 2018 Research Prize of the Dr. Maria Schaumayer Foundation 2018 Promotio Sub Auspiciis Praesidentis 2017 Diploma Thesis Award of the City of Vienna 2013 Ullrich actively contributes to the academic community through extensive grant acquisition and service. She has secured numerous research projects including SPyCoDe (Semantic and Cryptographic Foundations of Security and Privacy by Compositional Design), DynAISEC (Adaptive AI/ML for Dynamic Cybersecurity Systems), and Q-Crit (Quantum-Safe Critical Infrastructure for Austria). Her leadership extends to committee roles including Program Committee Member of IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (S&P) 2024 and Technical Program Chair of Network Traffic Measurement and Analysis Conference (TMA) 2023. At SBA Research, she leads the Networks and Critical Infrastructures Security Group, which investigates security challenges at the intersection of digital networks and physical infrastructure. The group conducts both theoretical research on security frameworks and practical measurements of real-world systems. Their work combines network measurement techniques with power systems engineering to develop comprehensive security approaches for critical infrastructure.
Wenwu Zhu is a Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Computer Science and Technology at Tsinghua University. He has held prominent positions at Microsoft Research Asia, Intel Research China, and Bell Labs, establishing himself as a leading figure in multimedia computing and networking with international recognition as a FOREIGN member of the Academy of Europe (elected 2018). His educational background includes: Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from New York University (1996) Professor Zhu's research focuses on the intersection of multimedia systems, networking, and big data. His work has pioneered advancements in internet video streaming, multimedia cloud computing, and social-aware content distribution. He has made significant contributions to understanding how multimedia content can be efficiently delivered across diverse network environments, from traditional wired networks to modern mobile and social platforms. His research bridges theoretical computer science with practical applications, with his work on social-aware video content distribution being transferred to Tencent company. His publication record shows a clear evolution from foundational work on internet video streaming in the early 2000s, through multimedia cloud computing in the early 2010s, to more recent work on social-aware multimedia and network embedding using deep learning approaches. This progression reflects the changing landscape of multimedia computing from infrastructure-focused to socially-aware and AI-driven systems. Professor Zhu has received numerous prestigious honors: AAAS Fellow (2016) SPIE Fellow (2013) IEEE Fellow (2010) Minister of Education's Natural Science Award, 1st prize (2017) Chinese Institution of Electronics's Natural Science Award, 1st prize (2015, 2012) National Natural Science Award, 2nd prize (2012) Chief Scientist for NSFC Major Project (2016) Chief Scientist for Ministry of Science and Technology's 973 Project (2014) Multiple Best Paper Awards including ACM Multimedia 2012 As Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Multimedia since 2017 and through leadership roles as General Co-Chair for ACM CIKM 2019 and ACM Multimedia 2018, Professor Zhu has significantly shaped the multimedia research community. His research has been supported by major grants including NSFC Major Projects and Ministry of Science and Technology's 973 Projects, demonstrating both academic and national strategic importance. He has published over 300 referred papers with an H-Index of 55, including 6 Best Paper Awards and 7 books or book chapters. Professor Zhu leads a research group at Tsinghua University focused on multimedia big data computing, with strong industry connections. His team has made pioneering contributions to structural network embedding using deep learning and social contextual recommendation systems, bridging theoretical advances with practical applications in social media platforms.
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.
Stefan Lengauer is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Visual Computing (IVC), Graz University of Technology. His work bridges cultural heritage analysis and health informatics through advanced visualization techniques. PhD in Computer Science (2022), Graz University of Technology MSc in Space Sciences (2018), TU Graz BSc in Computer Science (2014-2022) and Aviation (2015), FH JOANNEUM Research focuses on visual analytics , 3D object retrieval , and cross-modal search , with applications in: Medical domains (diabetes care, health information systems) Cultural heritage (pottery analysis, fragment matching, digital restoration) Pattern recognition (geometric motifs, surface textures) Recent publications highlight trends in adaptive visualization (2024-2025) and 3D cultural heritage analysis (2021-2023). Key projects include: HEREDITARY (2024-present): HORIZON Europe project on gut-brain interaction A+CHIS (2020-present): FWF research group on adaptive health information systems CrossSAVE-CH (2019-2022): Cross-modal search in cultural heritage Scientific recognition includes: Best Challenge Entry (2024) Honorable Mention (2020) PhD distinction (2022) Mentored 12+ students in topics ranging from medical chatbots to 3D pottery analysis . Reviewing activities span journals like Springer Nature and conferences including WSCG.
Michael Kerber is a Professor at Graz University of Technology, Institute of Geometry, specializing in computational topology and geometry. His research bridges mathematical theory with applications in data analysis, focusing on persistent homology and geometric algorithms. PhD from Max Planck Institute for Informatics (2009) Postdoc positions: Max Planck Institute, Stanford University, IST Austria His work centers on designing efficient algorithms for topological data analysis, particularly: Persistent Homology 2-Parameter Persistence Geometric Filtrations Algebraic Curve Analysis High-Dimensional Sphere Packing Recent publications emphasize: Improved Delaunay bifiltration methods NP-hardness of interleaving distance computation Sparse Čech filtrations for big data Integration with graph neural networks He has co-developed key software tools: PHAT DIPHA HERA SOPHIA
Fabian Jogl is a PreDoc Researcher at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) within the Faculty of Informatics, holding dual affiliations in the Department of Databases and Artificial Intelligence (Institute E192) and the Department of Machine Learning (Institute E194). His work centers on theoretical and applied aspects of graph neural networks under the StruDL (2023–2027) and VHH (2019–2023) research projects. His research focuses on the expressivity limits of graph neural networks, particularly investigating whether enhanced expressivity translates to better predictive performance. Key areas include outerplanar graph analysis, path-based GNN architectures, global feature integration, and connections to the Weisfeiler-Lehman hierarchy. He examines structural properties of GNNs through homomorphisms and graph transformations to advance graph representation learning. Recent publications reveal trends toward unifying theoretical expressivity frameworks with empirical validation across diverse graph datasets. His work bridges geometric deep learning for cell complexes and practical applications like historical film analysis via the Historian dataset. Jogl actively contributes to major conferences including NeurIPS, ICML, and LoG while co-supervising student projects in machine learning algorithms. As a core member of the StruDL project, he investigates deep learning model structures for graph data, extending prior work on historical film annotation under the VHH project. His technical contributions include novel GNN simulation techniques and methods for enhancing message-passing architectures through graph transformations.
Dr. Leoni Breth is a Researcher at the University for Continuing Education Krems, affiliated with the Department of Integrated Sensor Systems and the Center for Modelling and Simulation. She holds a PhD in Technical Physics from the Vienna University of Technology, specializing in Condensed Matter Physics and micromagnetic sensor research. Her work integrates theoretical modeling, experimental validation, and AI-driven approaches to advance materials science. Education: PhD in Technical Physics, Vienna University of Technology (focus: magnetoresistive sensors and thermal fluctuations) Undergraduate Studies in Technical Physics at Vienna University of Technology Research Interests: Dr. Breth's research focuses on micromagnetic simulations, magnetoresistive sensors, and the application of machine learning to analyze First-Order-Reversal Curves (FORCs) in materials science. Her work bridges fundamental physics and industrial applications, particularly in optimizing magnetic materials for advanced technologies like permanent magnets and cemented carbides. Key areas include coercivity enhancement, domain nucleation dynamics, and AI-based predictive modeling. Projects & Grants: FFG-funded project (2020-2023): AI-driven FORC analysis in carbide production FWF-funded project (2023-2026): Combinatorial synthesis and micromagnetic graph networks for magnet design Key Contributions: Her publications span topics like FORC diagram interpretation, skyrmion modeling in bulk materials, and machine learning for mechanical property prediction. She has also contributed to international conferences, including presentations at IEEE Magnetics Society events and the Joint European Magnetics Symposia.
Andrea M. Tonello is a Full Professor at the Institute of Networked and Embedded Systems, University of Klagenfurt, Austria, where he chairs the Embedded Communication Systems Lab. He previously held positions at the University of Udine, Italy, where he was an Associate Professor and founded the Wireless and Power Line Communication Lab (WiPLi Lab). His research spans power line communications, wireless systems, embedded communications, smart grids, and machine learning applications in signal processing. Doctor of Engineering, University of Padova (1996) Doctor of Research, Telecommunications, University of Padova (2003) His research interests focus on next-generation communication systems, including power line and wireless networks, signal processing, machine learning for communications, UAV systems, and smart grid technologies. He has made significant contributions to PLC channel modeling, full-duplex communications, and information-theoretic learning for communication systems. His work integrates theoretical innovation with practical implementation in real-world networks. The most recent publications highlight a strong trend toward integrating machine learning and information theory into communication systems, particularly in power line and wireless networks. Themes include f-divergence based classification, mutual information estimation, neural decoding (MIND), noise-robust receivers, and topology-aware machine learning for PLC quality prediction. There is also a notable focus on UAV control, full-duplex PLC, and digital pre-distortion techniques for high-speed converters. IET 2016 Premium Award Best Paper Award, ISPLC 2016 Best Student Paper Award, ISPLC 2016 Aerospace Best Paper Award, 2018 Best Paper Award, ISPLC 2021 Best PhD Dissertation Award, 2019 IEEE ComSoc Distinguished Lecturer (2018) Two Awards from IEEE ComSoc TC-PLC (2019) University of Klagenfurt Technology Scholarships (2019) Dr. Tonello has supervised numerous PhD and Master’s students, including notable advisees such as Nunzio A. Letizia, Davide Righini, and Babak Salamat. He has led over 10 institutional and multiple industrial research projects with a total funding exceeding 20 million euros. He played a key role in promoting international academic collaboration, including Erasmus agreements, joint PhD programs with INSA Rennes and Ecole Polytechnique de Grenoble, and a joint master’s program with the University of Klagenfurt. He founded and led the WiPLi Lab at the University of Udine, which received around 3 million euros in funding and involved over 60 researchers and students. He also founded WiTiKee s.r.l., a spin-off company specializing in PLC for smart grids. Currently, he chairs the Embedded Communication Systems Lab at the University of Klagenfurt, focusing on next-generation networked and embedded communication technologies.
Prof. Matthias Harders is a Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Innsbruck. His work focuses on medical imaging, haptic systems, virtual reality, and data-driven simulation. He leads research in interactive visualization tools, medical device development, and machine learning applications in healthcare and environmental engineering. Research areas include haptic augmented reality for surgical training, deformable medical image registration, and synthetic data generation for retinal imaging. Notable projects include SPBView for eye movement analysis and the PoRi device for post-stroke rehabilitation. His work bridges computer science with biomedical applications, emphasizing real-world impact in healthcare technology. Publications span medical simulation, machine learning for biogas prediction, and perceptual interfaces. He collaborates on EU-funded projects involving VR/AR systems and has contributed to open-source tools for point cloud analysis and surgical planning.
Marta Moscati works at the Institute of Computational Perception at Johannes Kepler University Linz , focusing on advanced recommendation systems and multimodal learning. Her research spans emotion-based music recommendation, privacy-preserving machine learning, and graph neural networks. Recent work includes: Developing multimodal single-branch architectures for cold-start scenarios Creating preference obfuscation techniques in implicit feedback systems Advancing music emotion recognition with semi-supervised graph networks Contributing to the FAME Challenge for multilingual face-voice association She has published extensively in top AI venues while maintaining technical expertise in both deep learning and theoretical physics , with early work on lepton universality violation. At JKU, she contributes to: Recommendation algorithms development Multimodal representation learning research Musical affective computing applications Privacy-preserving AI frameworks
Prasanna Viktor is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Southern California (USC), holding the Charles Lee Powell Chair in Engineering. He also serves as Director of the Center for Energy Informatics and has held leadership roles in interdisciplinary research centers such as the USC Infosys Center for Advanced Software Technologies. With a BE from Bangalore University, ME from Indian Institute of Science, and PhD from Pennsylvania State University, he is a globally recognized expert in reconfigurable computing, FPGA accelerators, and parallel computing. His research focuses on high-performance architectures for applications in networking, security, HPC, and machine learning. Over 25 years, he has secured research grants totaling over $50M, including $12.9M from 2016–2021. He has advised over 70 doctoral students and published over 600 papers, earning 22 best paper awards. His work has led to IP cores with improved throughput, latency, and energy efficiency. Prasanna is a Fellow of the IEEE, ACM, and AAAS, and an elected member of Academia Europaea. He has received prestigious awards such as the W. Wallace McDowell Award (2015) and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from IISc (2019). He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing. He leads interdisciplinary efforts in energy informatics and smart oilfield technologies, bridging computer science, engineering, and energy sectors. His contributions include foundational work in reconfigurable computing and FPGA-based accelerators for diverse applications.
