Prof. Vasilis Ntziachristos is a Professor and Chair of Biological Imaging at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), leading the Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging at the Helmholtz Centre Munich. His research focuses on developing novel optical and optoacoustic imaging techniques for early disease detection, diagnostics, and theranostics. He holds a PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and previously served as an Assistant Professor at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital. Affiliations: TUM School of Medicine and Health, Helmholtz Munich, Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging. Key Research Themes: Non-invasive imaging methods, molecular imaging, optoacoustic technology, and clinical translation. His work bridges theoretical developments with clinical applications, including advancements in glucose monitoring, cancer imaging, and drug delivery systems. Notable awards include the Leibniz Prize (2013) and the World Molecular Imaging Society Gold Medal (2015). Labs/Teams: Imaging to Sensing I2S, Optoacoustic Mesoscopy, Fluorescence Imaging, and AI in Optoacoustics. Grants/Projects: Involvement in Horizon Europe initiatives and collaborations with TranslaTUM and Helmholtz Munich. Prof. Ntziachristos actively contributes to education via courses like 'Biological Imaging' and 'Introduction to Bioengineering', fostering the next generation of imaging scientists.
Professor Thomas R. Knösche is a Group Leader at the Methods and Development Group Brain Networks within the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany. His research focuses on computational modeling of neural networks, biophysical modeling of EEG/MEG data, diffusion tractography, and the neurocognition of language and music. He holds a professorship at the institute and leads research initiatives in brain networks and neuroimaging methodologies. His work bridges theoretical neuroscience with practical applications in understanding brain function through advanced computational techniques. Contact information includes his office phone (+49 341 9940-2619) and lab address: Stephanstraße 1A, 04103 Leipzig, Saxony, Germany.
Prof. Dr. Barbara Kraus is the Chair of Quantum Algorithms and Applications at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), affiliated with the TUM School of Natural Sciences. She previously held academic positions at the University of Innsbruck, where she founded her research group in 2010. Education : Physics and Mathematics at the University of Innsbruck; Post-doctoral work at MPI for Quantum Optics and University of Geneva. Her research focuses on foundational problems in quantum information theory, particularly entanglement in multipartite systems, quantum simulation, and verification of quantum processors. She develops theoretical tools for quantum many-body systems and explores applications in quantum computing, emphasizing error characterization and experimental validation. Recent publications highlight advancements in Hamiltonian learning, symmetry-resolved entanglement detection, and multipartite state transformations. Her work bridges theoretical quantum physics with practical implementations, including Rydberg platforms and quantum metrology. Key Awards : START Prize (2010), Ignaz L. Lieben Award (2013), Boltzmann Prize (2011), Südtiroler Sparkasse Research Prize (2019). She supervises doctoral students and postdocs in quantum information theory, with a focus on stabilizer states, quantum networks, and entanglement measures. Her courses at TUM include Quantum Information , Quantum Algorithms , and workshops on entanglement manipulation.
Matthias Feurer is a Thomas Bayes Fellow and interim professor at the Chair of Statistical Learning and Data Science, funded by the Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML) at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He is a member of the Department of Statistics at LMU Munich, working under Prof. Dr. Bernd Bischl. His academic background includes: PhD in Computer Science from Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, supervised by Prof. Dr. Frank Hutter M.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Freiburg B.Sc. in Computer Science and Media from the Media University Stuttgart Feurer's research focuses on simplifying machine learning usage through Automated Machine Learning (AutoML). His work encompasses hyperparameter optimization, meta-learning, and model selection, with increasing emphasis on multi-objective AutoML that considers factors beyond predictive performance such as interpretability, deployability, and fairness. He actively develops open-source tools to advance the field. His recent publications demonstrate a strong trajectory in practical AutoML systems, with growing attention to tabular machine learning, foundation models integration, and addressing real-world constraints in optimization. His work consistently bridges theoretical advances with practical implementations through several widely-used open-source projects. Notable achievements include: 1st place in the warmstarting-friendly leaderboard of the BBO NeurIPS challenge Winner of the 2nd AutoML challenge Winner of the kdnuggets blog contest on AutoML Feurer is actively mentoring and teaching, having advertised PhD positions focused on AutoML, optimization, and benchmarking. He co-founded the Open Machine Learning Foundation supporting OpenML.org. His upcoming move to TU Dortmund as an assistant professor in AutoML and Optimization signals continued growth in his academic career while maintaining his research focus on making machine learning more accessible and rigorous.
Prof. Christian Heipke is a distinguished academic serving as Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geodetic Science at Leibniz University Hannover, Germany. He also holds the position of Executive Director at the Institute of Photogrammetry and GeoInformation (IPI), one of the leading research institutions in geospatial sciences within the faculty. His leadership extends across multiple committees including the Curriculum and Teaching Committee, Admissions and Examination Boards for Geodetic Science and Geoinformatics, and Navigation and Environmental Robotics. As a Professor at IPI, he maintains active research while overseeing significant academic and administrative responsibilities at the university. Professor Heipke's research spans multiple domains within geospatial sciences, with particular emphasis on: Advanced photogrammetric techniques and algorithms Remote sensing applications for environmental monitoring Computer vision approaches for geospatial data analysis Urban development monitoring using satellite imagery Machine learning applications in geoinformatics Disaster prediction and management systems His recent scholarly output reveals a strong focus on integrating cutting-edge computer vision and deep learning techniques with traditional photogrammetric methods. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications shows a clear trajectory toward more sophisticated AI-driven approaches for processing geospatial data, with particular attention to time-series analysis, uncertainty quantification, and multi-view systems. His work bridges theoretical advancements with practical applications in flood forecasting, deforestation monitoring, urban planning, and construction materials analysis. The geographic scope of his research has expanded significantly, with recent projects focusing on international case studies in the Philippines and tropical regions. Professor Heipke leads the Institute of Photogrammetry and GeoInformation, a major research hub that has celebrated 75 years of contributions to the field. His leadership extends to the Graduiertenkolleg 2159: "Integrity and Collaboration in Dynamic Sensor Networks," where he serves as a professor overseeing doctoral research. The institute maintains state-of-the-art facilities for processing satellite imagery, aerial photography, and developing novel algorithms for geospatial data analysis. Under his direction, the institute has strengthened its international collaborations and interdisciplinary research approaches, particularly in addressing Sustainable Development Goals through geospatial technologies.
Prof. Dr. Nicole Ondrusch is a Professor at Heilbronn University (HHN) within the Faculty of Computer Science. She specializes in teaching methodological fundamentals of software engineering, including ERP systems, Design Thinking, Change Management, and digital transformation. Her research focuses on educational concepts for computer science technologies and future-relevant skills. Key Roles and Projects: Member of BW-CAR doctoral center Organizer of Barcamp Heilbronn, an unconference teaching project fostering student teamwork Principal investigator in funded projects like DigiTrans (digital transformation education) and DEV:GAMES (educational game development) SAP Academic Board DACH spokesperson since 2021 Research Interests: Her work emphasizes innovative teaching methods such as Design Thinking, agile project implementation, and digital experimentation. She explores ethical AI education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the societal impact of digital transformation. Nicole also develops practical teaching tools like virtual escape rooms and game-based learning frameworks. Grants & Partnerships: Funded by DAAD (DigiTrans), Stiftung Innovation, and others Collaborates with industry partners like SAP and local IT organizations (ConnectIT) Labs & Teams: She leads the Lab:D initiative, developing digital teaching platforms, and co-organizes the Barcamp, a student-led event integrating real-world project management and community building.
Sebastian U. Stich is a tenured faculty member at the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security , where he has been since December 2021. He is also a member of the European Lab for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS) since June 2020. His research focuses on optimization methods for machine learning, collaborative learning algorithms, privacy and security in distributed systems, and theoretical foundations of deep learning. Stich received his PhD in Theoretical Computer Science from ETH Zurich (2014), following a Master's in Mathematics at the same institution (2010-2014). Prior to CISPA, he worked as a research scientist at EPFL (2016-2021) and held positions at ETH Zurich and ICTEAM/CORE. He has been awarded the ERC Consolidator Grant 2024 , Google Research Scholar Award (2023), and Meta Privacy-Enhancing Technologies Research Award (2022). His team includes Dr. Anton Rodomanov (since 2023), Dr. Rotem Mulayoff (since 2024), Xiaowen Jiang (2023), Yuan Gao (2023), and notable alumni like Anastasia Koloskova (defended 2023). Stich actively organizes workshops (e.g., NeurIPS OPT 2024) and serves on editorial boards ( Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications , Transactions on Machine Learning Research ). He teaches advanced courses in optimization at Saarland University and has held visiting positions at MIT. Key scientific contributions include: Developing ProgFed for progressive federated learning (2021) Creating ProxSkip to accelerate communication in federated settings (2022) Formalizing SCAFFOLD with control variates for FL (2020) Introducing RelaySum mechanism for decentralized learning (2021) Proposing Lookahead-Minmax for GAN training (2021) His work addresses fundamental challenges in: Decentralized optimization theory Communication-efficient algorithms Privacy-preserving model training Handling heterogeneous data distributions Stochastic gradient dynamics Second-order optimization methods
Peter Benner is a Professor and Director at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems in Magdeburg, where he leads the Computational Methods in Systems and Control Theory group. He also holds an Honorarprofessor position for Mathematics at Otto-von-Guericke Universität Magdeburg since 2011. Benner has previously served as Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute during multiple periods (2013-2014, 2021-2022, and 2025-2026), demonstrating his leadership in the field. Benner's research focuses on Scientific Machine Learning, Numerical Linear and Multilinear Algebra, Model Order Reduction and Reduced-order Modeling, Numerical Methods in Systems and Control Theory, PDE Constrained Optimization, High-performance and Power-aware Computing, and Mathematical Software development. His work bridges theoretical mathematics with practical engineering applications, particularly addressing challenges in large-scale dynamical systems. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on developing efficient computational methods for complex systems. Benner has pioneered approaches combining model order reduction with tensor methods to tackle high-dimensional problems in uncertainty quantification and PDE-constrained optimization. His work shows a consistent trend toward integrating data-driven techniques with traditional model-based approaches, particularly for nonlinear and parametric systems. Throughout his career, Benner has actively mentored students and collaborated with researchers worldwide, delivering numerous invited talks at prestigious institutions and conferences across Europe, North America, and Asia. His research has received significant funding, supporting the development of mathematical software and computational methods for industrial applications. Benner leads the Computational Methods in Systems and Control Theory department at the Max Planck Institute, which focuses on developing and implementing advanced numerical methods for large-scale dynamical systems. The group maintains strong connections with both theoretical mathematics and practical engineering applications, particularly in fluid dynamics, energy systems, and control theory.
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.
Anders Rantzer is a Professor of Automatic Control at the Department of Control Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, Sweden. He has held visiting positions at Caltech (2004–2005) and the University of Minnesota (2015–2016) as the Taylor Family Distinguished Visiting Professor. His academic journey began with a PhD from KTH Stockholm in 1991, followed by a postdoc at the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), University of Minnesota. His research interests center on modeling, analysis, and synthesis of control systems , with a strong focus on scalability, adaptation, and applications in energy networks . He is particularly known for foundational work in positive systems and integral quadratic constraints (IQCs) . These theoretical frameworks are critical in analyzing stability and robustness of large-scale interconnected systems. His work bridges mathematical rigor with practical engineering applications, especially in sustainable energy and networked systems. The recent publications and lecture materials reflect a consistent trajectory in scalable and robust control, optimization, and distributed systems. Themes such as large-scale convex optimization , nonlinear and stochastic control , and network dynamics dominate his scholarly output, indicating a sustained commitment to advancing control theory for complex, real-world systems. Scientific honors include: Fellow of IEEE Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) Chairman of the Swedish Scientific Council for Natural and Engineering Sciences Chairman of the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund Rantzer has supervised numerous students and contributed extensively to academic leadership and education. He has been involved in major national and international research initiatives such as WASP (Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program) and ELLIIT. His work includes developing educational tools and courses in control, optimization, and machine learning. He leads and contributes to research projects on autonomous systems, cloud control, and smart energy networks. He is affiliated with the Control Lab at LTH and participates in collaborative efforts such as the Nordic University Hub on Industrial Internet of Things (HI2OT). His work integrates theoretical advances with practical implementations in robotics, biomedical systems, and industrial automation.
Carlos Cinelli is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Washington, where he conducts research at the intersection of causal inference, statistical methodology, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. He is also a data science fellow at the eScience Institute and affiliate faculty of the Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences, demonstrating his interdisciplinary approach to causal methodology. Dr. Cinelli received his Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of California, Los Angeles, advised by Chad Hazlett and Judea Pearl, two prominent figures in causal inference. His research focuses on developing new causal and statistical methods for transparent and robust causal claims in empirical sciences, with particular attention to challenges faced by social and health scientists. His work spans theoretical developments in causal identification, sensitivity analysis frameworks, and practical software implementations that enable researchers to assess the robustness of their causal conclusions. Cinelli's research program addresses fundamental questions about how unobserved confounding affects causal estimates and develops tools to quantify how sensitive findings are to potential violations of causal assumptions. His work on omitted variable bias frameworks has been particularly influential across multiple disciplines. Through his publications, Cinelli has established himself as a leading researcher in causal inference methodology, with papers appearing in top journals across statistics, machine learning, epidemiology, and social sciences. His work demonstrates both theoretical rigor and practical relevance, often accompanied by open-source software implementations that make his methods accessible to applied researchers. Best paper award at SBE 2024 in Econometrics Royalty Research Fund (RRF) Award recipient NSF/MMS research support As an advisor, Cinelli has successfully guided PhD students like Nick Irons to dissertation completion. He actively seeks new students with strong interests in causal inference. His research is supported by multiple funding sources including the National Science Foundation and the University of Washington's Royalty Research Fund. Cinelli contributes to the academic community through editorial work for the Journal of Causal Inference and by developing widely used software packages like sensemakr for sensitivity analysis.
Niels Henze is a Professor at the Chair of Media Informatics within the Faculty of Languages, Literature and Cultural Studies at the University of Regensburg, where he has been serving since May 2018. His research centers on human-computer interaction, with a strong focus on predictive models in interactive systems, mobile interaction, augmented and virtual reality, and attention-aware computing. His research interests include: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Predictive modeling for runtime adaptation Mobile and wearable interaction Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) Attention-aware and context-sensitive systems Sociocognitive aspects of interactive technologies The analysis of his recent publications reveals a consistent focus on leveraging user behavior and contextual cues to build intelligent, adaptive interfaces. His work integrates machine learning with interaction design, emphasizing real-time model updates, implicit feedback, and cognitive load awareness to improve usability and user experience across mobile and immersive platforms. Scientific awards: No awards mentioned in the provided text. Niels Henze leads research in adaptive interactive systems and advises students in the field of media informatics. He has previously held a junior professorship at the University of Stuttgart and completed his doctorate at the University of Oldenburg under Susanne Boll. He is actively involved in advancing the theoretical and practical foundations of predictive and attention-aware computing. Grants and funding sources are not specified in the text. He is associated with the Institute for Information and Media, Language and Culture (I:IMSK) at the University of Regensburg, contributing to a multidisciplinary environment that bridges informatics with cultural and linguistic studies.
Thomas S. Lontzek is Professor of Economics at RWTH Aachen University, holding the Chair of Computational Economics within the School of Business and Economics since October 2016. His research develops numerical methods for economic decision-making with focus on climate change and environmental risks. His educational background includes economics studies at Maastricht University and UC San Diego (1999-2003), followed by PhD from University of Kiel (2009). Prior positions include Assistant/Senior Assistant at University of Zurich (2010-2016) and visiting scholar at Stanford's Hoover Institution (2012). Lontzek's research spans Economic Growth, Quantitative Macroeconomics, Resource and Energy Economics, Computational Economics, Climate Risk Management, and Decision Making under Uncertainty. His work emphasizes unconventional methods for analyzing economic processes through multidimensional, nonlinear stochastic optimization while incorporating ethical principles into economic analysis for sustainability challenges. His publication record reveals a consistent focus on climate economics, particularly the social cost of carbon, climate tipping points, and integrated assessment modeling. These works demonstrate how accounting for economic and climate risks, especially potential tipping points, necessitates more aggressive climate policies than traditional models suggest, often requiring sophisticated computational techniques to handle high-dimensional uncertainty. 2021 Erik Kempe Award for work on calculating an optimal CO2 tax Lontzek actively mentors students through research seminars and teaching, emphasizing methodological diversity and interdisciplinary approaches. He leads the Global Challenges Research Seminar through the Global Challenges Lab, providing students with opportunities to conduct innovative research using quantitative decision-making techniques for sustainable development challenges. His teaching portfolio for Summer Semester 2025 includes Quantitative Macroeconomics, Sustainable Finance, and specialized research seminars. He heads the Chair of Computational Economics, which includes scientific staff members Dr. Marco Thalhammer, Dr. Yifan Zhao, and Philipp Olivier, M.Sc., working collaboratively on climate economics and computational methods. The chair's research bridges theoretical economic modeling with practical policy applications, developing dynamic stochastic integrated assessment models capable of handling complex climate-economy interactions under uncertainty.
Michael Muehlebach leads the independent Learning and Dynamical Systems research group at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Tuebingen, Germany. His interdisciplinary work bridges machine learning, dynamical systems theory, and control engineering to develop algorithms for cyber-physical systems with theoretical guarantees and practical implementations. Dr. Muehlebach received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zurich in 2010 and 2013, specializing in robotics and control systems. He completed his Ph.D. at ETH's Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control under Prof. R. D'Andrea in 2018, followed by postdoctoral research with Prof. Michael I. Jordan at UC Berkeley. His research focuses on constrained optimization, reinforcement learning, and control theory with applications in robotics. He pioneered approaches that express constraints in terms of velocities rather than positions, enabling more efficient optimization algorithms. His work spans theoretical foundations to physical implementations, including the One-Wheel Cubli balancing robot and electromagnetic navigation systems. Recent publications reveal a strong trend toward physics-informed machine learning, particularly for robotics applications requiring real-time performance and safety guarantees. Dr. Muehlebach has received numerous prestigious awards: Outstanding D-MAVT Bachelor Award Willi-Studer prize for best Master's degree ETH Medal and HILTI prize for doctoral thesis Branco Weiss Fellowship (2018) Emmy Noether Fellowship (2020) Amazon Fellowship (2024) He actively mentors doctoral researchers including Hao Ma, Melis Ilayda Bal, and Onno Eberhard, with research supported by multiple grants. His group maintains strong collaborations with Bernhard Schölkopf's Empirical Inference group at the Max Planck Institute. The Learning and Dynamical Systems group develops innovative hardware and software platforms, including Floaty (a wind-harnessing flying robot), advanced electromagnetic navigation systems, and data-efficient learning methods for robotic table tennis. Their approach combines rigorous theoretical analysis with practical validation on physical systems, emphasizing the integration of known physical structure into machine learning algorithms to improve sample efficiency and ensure generalization.
Elena Simperl is a Professor of Computer Science and Deputy Head of Department for Enterprise and Engagement at King's College London's Department of Informatics. She co-directs the King's Institute for Artificial Intelligence and serves as Director of Research for the Open Data Institute. As a Hans Fischer Senior Fellow at the Technical University of Munich's Institute for Advanced Study, she leads the Trustworthy Knowledge Graphs focus group and contributes to advancing human-centric AI research across European institutions. Professor Simperl obtained her doctoral degree in Computer Science from the Free University of Berlin and her diploma from the Technical University of Munich. Prior to joining King's, she held academic positions in Germany, Austria, and at the University of Southampton, and was a Turing Fellow. Her career trajectory demonstrates consistent leadership in bridging academic research with practical applications in data ecosystems. Her research sits at the critical intersection of AI and social computing, focusing on human-centric approaches to building sociotechnical systems that integrate data, algorithms, and human capabilities. She investigates how to make knowledge engineering more accessible, how to leverage collective intelligence for data quality improvement, and how to design participatory AI systems that address societal challenges like misinformation. Her work spans knowledge graphs, semantic technologies, crowdsourcing, and open data, with particular emphasis on the social dimensions of data-intensive systems and the governance frameworks needed for trustworthy AI deployment. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong evolution toward integrating large language models with traditional knowledge engineering practices while maintaining human oversight. There's a clear trajectory from foundational work on knowledge representation toward increasingly applied research addressing real-world challenges in media ecosystems, citizen science, and data governance, with growing attention to policy implications of AI technologies. Fellow of the British Computer Society Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts Hans Fischer Senior Fellow at TUM-IAS (2023) Ranked among top 100 most influential scholars in knowledge engineering of the last decade Included in Women in AI 2000 ranking Professor Simperl has led 14 major European and national research projects totaling millions in funding, including MediaFutures (a Horizon 2020 program tackling online misinformation), QROWD, ODINE, Data Pitch, and ACTION. She currently co-chairs the Croissant working group in ML Commons developing data standards for AI, and serves as president of the Semantic Web Science Association. Her research has directly influenced the development of data ecosystems supporting startups and citizen science initiatives across Europe, demonstrating exceptional ability to translate theoretical advances into practical impact. As Director of Research at the Open Data Institute, she oversees initiatives connecting data entrepreneurs with artists and civic organizations. Her leadership in the MediaFutures project established a data-driven innovation hub that supported 51 startups/SMEs and 43 artists through three open calls, creating a sustainable model for arts-technology collaborations addressing media challenges. Her work with the ODINE project helped create a European ecosystem for data-driven startups, demonstrating her commitment to building practical applications of open data principles.