Prof. Dr.-Ing. Richard Membarth is a Research Professor for System-on-a-Chip and AI at the Edge Computing at Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI). He is affiliated with the Hardware-Software Co-Design group and holds a secondary position at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) Saarbrücken. Co-creator of DSL frameworks like AnyDSL and Hipacc Key contributor to MetaDL (AI metaprogramming) and PRIME (predictive rendering) His research bridges GPU computing , domain-specific languages , and compiler technology , with recent work on Vulkan SPIR-V compilation and device-driven SpMV algorithms . Notable awards include the HiPEAC Paper Award (2018) and multiple Best Paper Awards for his compiler frameworks.
Mohamed Sarwat is an Associate Professor at Arizona State University specializing in databases , spatial data management , and recommender systems . His research focuses on GeoSpark —a cluster computing framework for spatial data—and its extensions like GeoSparkViz for visualization and GeoSparkSim for traffic simulation. Key Contributions: LARS* (Location-Aware Recommender System), Horton* (Graph Reachability), Sindbad (GeoSocial Platform), and Riso-Tree (Graph Database Indexing) Research Themes: Integration of spatial/temporal data with machine learning, efficient indexing for big geospatial datasets, and scalable frameworks for mobility data science His work spans collaborations with 23+ co-authors across institutions like University of Minnesota, University of Melbourne, and University of Salzburg. Current projects emphasize GeoTorchAI —a spatiotemporal deep learning system—and mobility data science infrastructure.
Volker Markl is a Professor at Technische Universität Berlin in the Institute of Software Engineering and Theoretical Computer Science, with additional affiliations at the Berlin Institute for the Foundations of Learning and Data (BIFOLD) and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). His research spans database systems, stream processing, and distributed data management with significant contributions to both theoretical foundations and practical implementations. Markl's research interests focus on next-generation data management systems, particularly for streaming and IoT environments. His work addresses critical challenges in distributed query processing, system integration, and performance optimization. He has pioneered approaches for stream processing in volatile infrastructures and developed innovative techniques for GPU-accelerated database operations. His NebulaStream project represents a major contribution to distributed stream processing systems. His publication record demonstrates consistent impact across top database venues including VLDB, SIGMOD, and ICDE. Recent work shows increasing focus on machine learning integration with database systems, privacy-preserving query processing, and educational approaches for teaching large-scale data management. Markl has mentored numerous researchers who have become prominent in the database community, with frequent collaborators including Steffen Zeuch, Tilmann Rabl, and Philipp Grulich. His leadership extends to major research initiatives and collaborations across European institutions.
Jianfeng Gu is a Ph.D. Candidate and researcher at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), affiliated with the Department of Computer Science and specifically the Chair of Computer Architecture and Parallel Systems led by Prof. Martin Schulz. He maintains an active research profile with numerous publications and contributes to the academic community through teaching seminars on Cloud Computing. His academic path began with a Bachelor of Software Engineering from Sun Yat-sen University in China (2014-2018), followed by a Master of Engineering from the same institution (2018-2020). Since April 2021, he has been pursuing his Ph.D. at TUM, advancing research in computing systems and architectures. Gu's research focuses on Heterogeneous Serverless Computing for Deep Learning applications, specializing in GPU, FPGA, and NPU technologies within serverless environments. His work addresses critical challenges in resource allocation, auto-scaling, and performance optimization for serverless inference systems. Additionally, he investigates Real-time Autonomous Driving Systems , developing advanced perception techniques through sensor fusion (particularly stereo-LiDAR fusion) for high-precision depth sensing and object detection in autonomous vehicles. His interdisciplinary approach bridges hardware acceleration, cloud infrastructure, and AI applications. His publication trajectory shows a progression from foundational computer vision and autonomous driving research (2018-2020) toward increasingly sophisticated work on serverless computing and federated learning (2021-2025). Recent publications focus on efficient resource sharing in heterogeneous serverless environments, with particular attention to GPU and FPGA allocation strategies that maintain service level objectives while optimizing costs. His work demonstrates strong technical depth across multiple computing domains. Best Paper Award at IEEE/ACM DATE 2021 15+ publications with 185+ citations Research featured in top venues for computer architecture and cloud computing As a Ph.D. researcher, Gu teaches seminars on Cloud Computing (IN2107) and contributes to multiple research projects at TUM's Chair of Computer Architecture and Parallel Systems. His work is supported by the department's research infrastructure and collaborations with faculty including Prof. Martin Schulz and Prof. Michael Gerndt. Gu works within TUM's advanced computing research environment, contributing to projects related to high-performance computing, serverless architectures, and autonomous systems. His research group maintains specialized hardware and software infrastructure for evaluating modern HPC architectures and accelerators, including FPGA clusters and GPU resources for deep learning research.
Tony Stillfjord is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Lund University, Sweden. He previously held postdoctoral positions at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems and Chalmers/University of Gothenburg. Ph.D. and MSc in Numerical Analysis from Lund University Funded by WASP (Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program) Research Interests : Numerical methods for partial differential equations, splitting schemes, stochastic optimization, and large-scale differential Riccati equations. His work focuses on developing low-rank approximations and robust optimization algorithms. Recent Publications highlight advancements in Lie/Strang splitting for operator-valued Riccati equations, stochastic descent methods, and GPU-accelerated splitting schemes. Software Contributions : Developed DREsplit (MATLAB package for differential Riccati equations) and BST20_CODE for stochastic optimization experiments. Contact : Office at MH:562E, Lund University. Email: tony.stillfjord@math.lth.se . URL: tonystillfjord.net
Luca Caviglione is a prominent cybersecurity researcher at the National Research Council of Italy (CNR), specializing in steganography, covert channels, and network security. With over 140 publications spanning from 2015 to 2025, he has established himself as a leading expert in information hiding techniques and their security implications. His research bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in IoT, cloud computing, and mobile security environments. Dr. Caviglione's primary research interests focus on steganography and covert communication channels , particularly their application in modern computing environments. He investigates how data can be hidden within network protocols, mobile applications, and cloud infrastructures, while simultaneously developing detection methodologies. His work extends to IoT security , where he examines vulnerabilities in constrained devices and develops AI-based approaches for threat detection. Additional research areas include container security, malware analysis (particularly stegomalware), and security protocol analysis. Caviglione's publication record reveals a clear evolution toward applying machine learning and artificial intelligence to detect sophisticated threats like stegomalware. His recent work increasingly addresses container security, DDoS protection in microservices, and post-quantum security challenges, reflecting the evolving threat landscape. He frequently collaborates with international researchers, notably Wojciech Mazurczyk (46 co-authored papers) and Steffen Wendzel (31 co-authored papers), forming a productive research network in information hiding. As an active contributor to the cybersecurity research ecosystem, Caviglione serves on editorial boards and has organized special issues focused on information security methodology and replication studies. His leadership in developing taxonomies for steganography methods demonstrates his influence in shaping research directions in this specialized field. His work has practical implications for securing modern computing environments against increasingly sophisticated hidden communication channels.
Professor Gesa Hartwigsen is a leading cognitive neuroscientist holding dual appointments as Professor for Cognitive and Biological Psychology at Leipzig University and Lise Meitner Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS). She leads the Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, focusing on neural networks for higher cognitive functions, adaptive plasticity in cognition, and language network reorganization after stroke. Her educational background includes: Studies of Psychology (Dipl.-Psych., 2001-2006) at Kiel University PhD in Neurology (Dr. phil., 2007-2010) at Kiel University Habilitation in Psychology (2018) at University of Potsdam Hartwigsen's research spans cognitive neuroscience with particular emphasis on language processing, neural plasticity, and brain stimulation techniques. Her work investigates how brain networks support semantic cognition, how they adapt following neurological damage, and how they change across the lifespan. She employs advanced methodologies including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), functional MRI, and concurrent TMS-fMRI to establish causal relationships in neural processing. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on language networks, executive control mechanisms, and neural plasticity. Her work increasingly integrates advanced computational approaches with neurostimulation to understand semantic processing, speech comprehension in challenging environments, and recovery from language disorders. A significant trend is her development of methodological frameworks for concurrent TMS-fMRI, establishing new standards in the field. Her notable scientific recognition includes: ERC Consolidator Grant (2023-2027) for "The Flexible Brain: (Re-)shaping Adaptation in Semantic Cognition" NVIDIA GPU grant (Titan Xp Donation) Hartwigsen has secured substantial research funding, including multiple DFG projects as Principal Investigator. Her current DFG Research Unit (2023-2026) focuses on "Modulation of brain networks for memory and learning by transcranial electrical stimulation," where she serves as PI. She has successfully led multiple interdisciplinary projects examining language networks, neural plasticity, and brain stimulation effects. At the MPI CBS, she leads the Cognition and Plasticity research group, which investigates how brain networks support cognitive functions and adapt to challenges. Her team employs a multimodal approach combining neurostimulation, neuroimaging, and behavioral methods to understand the causal architecture of cognitive networks, particularly in language processing and semantic cognition.
Prof. Dr. Rolf Wanka is a Professor at the Department of Computer Science, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), specializing in efficient algorithms and combinatorial optimization. His research focuses on swarm intelligence, discrete optimization algorithms, and scheduling problems, particularly in timetabling and robotics applications. Education : Sc.D. (Dr. rer. nat.) in Computer Science His work includes theoretical and experimental analyses of particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithms, addressing runtime complexity, stagnation behavior, and convergence properties. He has developed novel heuristics for timetabling and sorting problems, with applications in multi-robot systems and medical imaging. Notable collaborations include studies on Markov chain-based PSO and fairness in academic scheduling. Key trends in his recent publications span swarm intelligence , discrete optimization , and scheduling heuristics , with a focus on robust timetabling , runtime analysis , and stochastic algorithm behavior . While no explicit scientific awards are listed, his mentorship in the Max Weber-Programm highlights his advisory role in academia. His publications demonstrate interdisciplinary applications of algorithms in robotics , medical imaging , and parallel computing , leveraging both theoretical rigor and practical experimentation. The full description below provides exhaustive details on his academic contributions and affiliations.
Heiner Giefers is a Professor for Cloud Computing at the Department of Computer Science and Natural Sciences at Southwestphalia University of Applied Sciences since 2018. Prior to this position, he worked as a Research Staff Member at IBM Research - Zürich (2013-2018), focusing on hardware acceleration in cloud environments, implementation of big data algorithms on FPGAs, and development of hardware platforms for approximate and in-memory computing. Dr. Giefers received his doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) from Universität Paderborn in 2012 with a dissertation titled "Design and Programming of Reconfigurable Mesh based Many-Cores." His academic journey at Universität Paderborn includes serving as an Academic Council Member (Akademischer Rat a.Z.) from 2008-2013 and as a Scientific Staff Member from 2006-2012, where he taught digital technology and computer architecture. Professor Giefers' research focuses on energy-efficient computing, particularly through hardware acceleration using FPGAs for cloud and AI workloads. His work spans cloud computing infrastructure, hardware-software co-design, approximate computing, in-memory computing, and energy-efficient implementations of machine learning algorithms. He has made significant contributions to the field of reconfigurable hardware for high-performance computing applications. His recent publications show a strong trend toward applying hardware acceleration techniques to artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads, with a particular focus on energy efficiency. His work bridges the gap between theoretical computer science and practical hardware implementation, often resulting in patented technologies that address real-world computing challenges in cloud environments. Best Paper Award for "Stochastic Matrix-Function Estimators: Scalable Big-Data Kernels with High Performance" (2016) Best Paper Award Nomination for "Energy-Efficient Stochastic Matrix Function Estimator for Graph Analytics on FPGA" (2016) Best Paper Award Nomination for "Analyzing the energy-efficiency of dense linear algebra kernels by power-profiling a hybrid CPU/FPGA system" (2014) Best Paper Award Nomination for "A Triple Hybrid Interconnect for Many-Cores: Reconfigurable Mesh, NoC and Barrier" (2010) Professor Giefers actively supervises numerous Bachelor's and Master's students, with over 50 completed theses covering topics from machine learning and cloud computing to IoT systems and hardware acceleration. He leads the "Energy-efficient AI" project (eki), which aims to increase the energy efficiency of AI systems through approximation techniques for FPGA implementation. Additionally, he collaborates with Prof. Dr. Christian Plessl on the "Digital teaching materials with Jupyter Notebooks" project, creating interactive learning materials that integrate teaching content, program code, and results into a single document. His work extends to practical applications through multiple patents related to FPGA implementations, neural networks, and memory systems, demonstrating his commitment to translating research into real-world solutions.
Athinagoras Skiadopoulos is a computer systems researcher at Stanford University's School of Engineering, Department of Computer Science, focusing on the intersection of database systems and operating systems. His work centers around the innovative DBOS (Database-oriented Operating System) project and large-scale machine learning infrastructure, collaborating with prominent researchers including Christos Kozyrakis and Michael Stonebraker. His primary research interests include: Database-oriented Operating Systems (DBOS) Distributed systems for large-scale machine learning Resource management and optimization in data-intensive systems Transaction processing and data governance High-performance networking for accelerated computing Fault tolerance in distributed training systems Skiadopoulos's research trajectory shows a clear evolution from foundational DBOS architecture toward applications in large-scale machine learning systems. His early publications established the DBOS framework for operating system design using database principles, while his recent work addresses critical challenges in distributed training of massive neural networks. Systems like ReCycle and SlipStream demonstrate innovative approaches to pipeline adaptation and failure recovery during distributed training. His most recent 2025 work on accelerating Mixture-of-Experts training represents the cutting edge of efficient large model training infrastructure. Through his research, Skiadopoulos has established himself in both the database and systems research communities, with publications in premier venues including SOSP, OSDI, VLDB, and CIDR. His work consistently bridges theoretical database concepts with practical systems implementations, demonstrating how database techniques can solve real-world systems challenges in modern computing environments.
Jignesh M. Patel is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA , with over 25 years of contributions to database systems, data analytics, and hardware-aware query processing. His work bridges theoretical advancements with practical systems engineering. Research Interests span: Database systems optimization (query processing, transaction management) Hardware acceleration for analytics (eBPF, PIM, GPUs) Machine learning integration in databases (feature selection, model optimization) Efficient data structures (hashing, encoding, indexing) Multi-tenant and cloud database management Recent Work focuses on kernel-embedded databases (BPF-DB, 2025), memory-efficient dataframe processing (SplitDF, 2024), and algorithmic-hardware co-design for dense retrieval (DReX, 2025). He has pioneered techniques for adapting to data skew (VIP Hashing, 2022), leveraging static analysis in R optimization (ROSA, 2017), and rethinking benchmarking paradigms. Collaborations include key partnerships with: Systems researchers (Andrew Pavlo, José F. Martínez) Machine learning experts (Arun Kumar, Kevin Skadron) Education-focused colleagues (Adalbert Gerald Soosai Raj, Richard Halverson) Industry leaders (David J. DeWitt, Microsoft Research)
Miryung Kim is a Professor and Vice Chair of Graduate Studies in UCLA's Computer Science Department, where she directs the Software Engineering and Analysis Laboratory. She is renowned for her pioneering work in software evolution, code clone management, and establishing the emerging field of Software Engineering for Data Intensive Computing (SE4DA and SE4ML). Her research focuses on automated testing and debugging for Apache Spark, developer tools for heterogeneous computing, and conducting systematic studies of refactoring practices in industry. She led the first large-scale study of data scientists in industry and developed JDebloat, a Java bytecode debloating tool that made significant tech transfer impact to the Navy. Her recent publications demonstrate strong trends in fuzz testing for big data analytics and heterogeneous computing, with a focus on natural input generation, co-dependence awareness, and leveraging hardware probes for acceleration. Her work bridges software engineering with data-intensive and heterogeneous computing paradigms. ACM SIGSOFT Influential Educator Award (2022) ICSME Most Influential Paper Award (2023 and 2020) NSF CAREER award Google Faculty Research Award Okawa Foundation Research Award Humboldt Fellow ACM Distinguished Member As an academic advisor, she has produced eight tenure-track faculty members at institutions including Columbia, Purdue, and Virginia Tech. Her research has been supported by National Science Foundation, Air Force Research Laboratory, Google, IBM, Intel, Okawa Foundation, Samsung, and Office of Naval Research. She previously served as Program Co-Chair of ESEC/FSE 2022 and has delivered keynotes at ASE 2019 and ISSTA 2022. She maintains active industry collaborations, serving as an Amazon Scholar at Amazon Web Services and having spent time as a visiting researcher at Microsoft Research.
Jingling Xue is a Scientia Professor at the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia. As an IEEE Fellow of the Computer Society, he leads the Programming Languages and Compilers research group, focusing on practical applications of compiler optimization and program analysis techniques. His work bridges theoretical foundations with real-world software systems, particularly in developing open-source tools for large-scale program analysis. Professor Xue received his B.Eng and M.Eng degrees from Tsinghua University in 1984 and 1987, respectively, followed by a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 1992. His academic journey has established him as a leading figure in programming languages and compiler technology. Xue's research spans programming languages, compiler technology, and program analysis with emphasis on practical relevance. His current projects include compiler techniques for improving parallelism and locality, pointer/alias analysis for million-line-scale programs, and static/dynamic analysis for detecting bugs and security vulnerabilities in real-world applications like web browsers and Android apps. His group actively develops open-source tools to support scientific replicability and reproducibility in these areas. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on applying program analysis techniques to modern challenges including AI compilers, homomorphic encryption, security vulnerability detection, and graph processing systems. The work shows evolution from traditional compiler optimization to addressing emerging domains like privacy-preserving computation and deep learning systems while maintaining rigorous theoretical foundations. Scientific Awards: Best Paper Award at CGO'13 Best Paper Award at CGO'16 Distinguished Paper Award at ECOOP'16 Distinguished Paper Award at ICSE'18 Distinguished Paper Award at ISSTA'19 Distinguished Paper Award at ASE'19 Distinguished Artifact Award at ISSTA'23 Best Artifact Award at FSE'23 Distinguished Paper Award at ASE'23 Test-of-Time Award at CGO'21 Professor Xue has successfully supervised 30 PhD students to completion, many of whom now work as professors or researchers in academia and industry. He has served as Program Chair for major conferences including LCTES'13, CC'18, CGO'20, and General Chair for LCTES'20. His group currently focuses on memory safety in Rust, smart contract analysis, AI compilers, compilation for privacy-preserving computation, and adversarial attacks in deep learning. The Programming Languages and Compilers group maintains strong connections with industry partners, translating theoretical advances into practical tools for real-world software development challenges. Their work on pointer analysis, memory safety, and compiler optimizations continues to influence both academic research and industrial practice.
Prof. Dr. Rainer Heintzmann serves as Head of the Microscopy Department at the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz-IPHT) in Jena, Germany. His research focuses on advancing optical microscopy techniques, particularly super-resolution methods that surpass the diffraction limit to visualize cellular structures at nanoscale resolution. His primary research interests center on structured illumination microscopy (SIM), point spread function modeling, and computational imaging techniques. He has made significant contributions to developing automated multicolor SIM systems, extreme ultraviolet microscopy approaches, and deep learning-enhanced image analysis methods. His work bridges optical physics, computational algorithms, and biomedical applications, with particular emphasis on making advanced microscopy techniques more accessible through open-source hardware and software solutions. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong focus on overcoming fundamental limitations in optical microscopy. His research spans from theoretical modeling of optical systems to practical implementations for biological imaging. Key trends include the development of more accurate point spread function calculations, expansion of super-resolution techniques to new wavelength regimes, and integration of machine learning for image analysis and segmentation. Prof. Heintzmann actively collaborates with researchers across multiple institutions, as evidenced by his co-authorship on numerous interdisciplinary publications. His work has appeared in high-impact journals including Nature Methods, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, and Optics Express, reflecting the significance of his contributions to advancing microscopy techniques. His laboratory at Leibniz-IPHT appears to focus on developing novel microscopy instrumentation, particularly open-source implementations of super-resolution techniques. Recent projects include the openSIMMO platform for automated multicolor structured illumination microscopy and work on extreme ultraviolet microscopy that could potentially extend super-resolution capabilities into the X-ray regime.
Prof. Dr. Philipp Slusallek serves as Scientific Director and executive board member at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), where he leads the Agents and Simulated Reality research area. He holds a Full Professorship in Computer Graphics at Saarland University since 1999, co-founded the European AI initiative CAIRNE as Director of Strategy, and directs research at the Intel Visual Computing Institute. His career spans leadership roles in the Excellence Cluster on Multimodal Computing and Interaction and prior visiting positions at Stanford University and Nvidia Research. His academic foundation includes: 1983-1990: M.Sc. in Physics, University of Tübingen 1992-1995: Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Erlangen Slusallek's research bridges Artificial Intelligence, Simulated Reality, and Computer Graphics with applications in high-performance computing, motion synthesis, and AI for science. His interdisciplinary work integrates real-time rendering, heterogeneous system programming (CPU/GPU/FPGA), and biomechanical modeling, driving innovations in digital reality frameworks and AI-driven simulation systems across medical, engineering, and autonomous vehicle domains. His 2025 publications reveal a strong focus on graphics compilation (Vulkan SPIR-V), rehabilitation biomechanics, and multi-agent motion simulation, demonstrating consistent integration of computer graphics foundations with emerging AI methodologies for practical real-world applications. Award highlights include the Eurographics Gold Medal (2023), acatech membership (2018), Land of Ideas Awards (2015, 2010), and Eurographics Fellowship (2013), recognizing his transformative contributions to computer graphics and AI. Eurographics Gold Medal (2023) acatech Membership (2018) Land of Ideas Award: Display as a Service (2015) Fellow of Eurographics Association (2013) CeBIT Innovation Award (2013) Land of Ideas Award: DFKI Visualization Center (2010) Slusallek leads major research initiatives including B5GCyberTestV2X (cybersecurity for autonomous driving), ENGAGE (AI computing environments), Carousel+ (digital character interaction), PRIME (predictive rendering), and TAILOR (trustworthy AI). His DFKI research group pioneers virtual environment frameworks while his academic mentorship has shaped generations of computer graphics researchers through Saarland University's programs. He co-founded the Intel Visual Computing Institute and established foundational visualization infrastructure at DFKI, maintaining active leadership in European AI strategy through CAIRNE and prior service on the European Commission's High-Level Expert Group on AI.
