Mathias Müller is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zurich, where he works on sign language translation and natural language processing (NLP) with a focus on scientific integrity and accessibility. He collaborates with Sarah Ebling , Annette Rios , and others as part of the EU-funded project EASIER . His research interests span Sign language processing Scientific reproducibility Robustness of NMT systems Teaching neural machine translation (NMT) Markup technologies (XML, XSLT, etc.) Phonetics and acoustics His recent publications highlight trends in sign language translation, including multimodal approaches, gloss-based translation, and Signwriting integration. These works emphasize evaluation protocols and addressing bias in NLP systems. Scientific awards include Outstanding Paper Award at ACL 2023 Best Paper Award at AfricaNLP 2023 Best Poster Award at Swisstext 2023 He advises students like Shester and collaborates with teams on NMT system development. His work is supported by a 4-year Bridge Postdoc grant funded by the University of Zurich's Digital Society Initiative (DSI).
Abraham Bernstein is a Full Professor of Informatics at the University of Zurich (UZH), where he serves as Head of the Dynamic and Distributed Information Systems Group and Director of the UZH Digital Society Initiative. He leads a university-wide initiative with over 180 faculty members investigating the interplay between society and digitalization. His work bridges social science foundations (organizational psychology/sociology/economics) and technical disciplines (computer science, artificial intelligence), creating a unique interdisciplinary approach to digital transformation challenges. Education: Diploma in Computer Science from ETH Zurich Ph.D. in Management with concentration in Information Technologies from MIT's Sloan School of Management Professor Bernstein's research spans the Semantic Web, data mining/machine learning, recommender systems, crowd computing, and collective intelligence. His work uniquely integrates social science perspectives with technical computer science approaches, examining how social and technical elements interact in digital systems. Recent work focuses on explainable AI, ethical decision-making with AI systems, and the societal implications of digital transformation, reflecting his commitment to addressing both technical challenges and their broader societal context. His publication record shows a strong trajectory in multimodal information retrieval, knowledge representation, and human-AI collaboration, with increasing focus on ethical considerations and societal impact of AI technologies. The research demonstrates consistent innovation in bridging technical AI capabilities with human-centered design principles, particularly in areas like explainable recommender systems and democratic applications of AI. Scientific Recognition: Nominated Digital Shaper by Bilanz magazine (2017) Professor Bernstein has supervised over 30 PhD students whose work spans semantic technologies, data mining, recommender systems, and human-AI interaction. His research group has secured significant funding for projects related to digital society, knowledge representation, and AI ethics. As Director of the Digital Society Initiative, he coordinates cross-disciplinary research across UZH's faculties, bringing together scholars from humanities, social sciences, law, economics, and STEM fields to address complex digital transformation challenges. He leads the Dynamic and Distributed Information Systems Group at UZH, which maintains strong international collaborations and contributes significantly to both theoretical advances and practical applications in information systems. The group's work has influenced standards in semantic web technologies and continues to shape discourse on responsible AI development and deployment in society.
Vincent Jung is a PhD Student at EPFL (LTS4) and IDIAP, with a visiting researcher role at the University of Italian Switzerland (USI). He is affiliated with the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society and the Institute of Argumentation, Linguistics and Semiotics (IALS). His research focuses on RNA Language Models (RNA-LMs), bridging methodologies from natural language processing and computational biology to address challenges in RNA sequence analysis, structure prediction, and interaction modeling. Supervised by Prof. Lonneke van der Plas, Prof. Pascal Frossard, and Prof. Raphaëlle Luisier Vincent's work emphasizes adapting and developing AI/ML techniques for biological applications, particularly in understanding RNA functionalities. He is based at USI's Lugano campus.
Matthias Grossglauser is a Full Professor at the School of Computer and Communication Sciences at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), where he co-directs the Information and Network Dynamics lab. He serves on the Federal Communications Commission (ComCom), Switzerland's telecommunications regulatory authority, and previously directed EPFL's Doctoral School in Computer and Communication Sciences (2016-2019). His career includes positions at Nokia Research Center (Internet Laboratory lead), AT&T Research, and EPFL (Assistant Professor). Education Ph.D. in Computer Science from Sorbonne Universités M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology Engineering degree in Communication Systems from EPFL Research Focus Grossglauser's research integrates machine learning, stochastic networks, and discrete choice models to address challenges in artificial intelligence, network science, computational social sciences, and recommender systems. His work emphasizes both theoretical foundations and practical applications, including political forecasting, climate communication, and network dynamics. Publication Trends Recent articles demonstrate strong focus on causal inference, optimal learning algorithms, and social network analysis. Dominant themes include reinforcement learning optimization, graph-based modeling, and NLP applications in political science. Methodological innovations in matrix factorization, Bayesian modeling, and stochastic processes recur throughout. Awards & Honors Fellow of IEEE and ELLIS Cor Baayen Award (1998) CoNEXT/SIGCOMM Rising Star Award (2006) Best Paper Awards: ACM COSN (2014), IEEE INFOCOM (2001) Nokia Mobile Data Challenge Winner (2012) Academic Leadership Has advised 16+ PhD students to completion and currently supervises 4 doctoral candidates. Secured research funding for projects including dynamic recommender systems, network alignment algorithms, and computational social science tools (e.g., Predikon.ch vote prediction platform). Leads the Information and Network Dynamics lab, focusing on AI-driven network analysis.
Prof. Mackenzie Weygandt Mathis is Tenure-Track Assistant Professor and Bertarelli Foundation Chair of Integrative Neuroscience at EPFL’s Brain Mind Institute . Leading the Mathis Lab since 2020, she unites machine learning and systems neuroscience to decipher how brains learn and control movement. Education : PhD in Neuroscience, Harvard University (2017, advisor Naoshige Uchida) Post-doctoral training, University of Tübingen with Matthias Bethge (2017) Rowland Fellow, Harvard University (2017-2020) Research Focus : the lab develops open-source AI tools ( DeepLabCut , CEBRA , AmadeusGPT ) and combines them with large-scale neural recordings in behaving mice to uncover the neural basis of adaptive motor control. Core themes include sensorimotor learning, proprioception, and brain-inspired algorithms for robotics. Publications Trend : recent work spans robust machine-learning methods (ICLR, AISTATS 2025), foundational models for pose estimation ( SuperAnimal , 2024), and integrative studies linking neural population dynamics to muscle-level control ( Nature 2023, Cell 2024). Scientific Awards : Swiss Science Prize Latsis 2024 Robert Bing Prize 2024 Eric Kandel Young Neuroscientist Prize 2023 FENS EJN Young Investigator Prize 2022 Vallee Scholar, ELLIS Scholar, NSF Graduate Fellow Advising & Funding : she mentors 4 current PhD students and several postdocs, supported by SNSF Starting Grant (1.5 M CHF), CZI, Novartis, Radala Foundation, and Kavli Foundation grants. Labs & Teams : the Mathis Lab is located at Campus Biotech , Geneva, and actively collaborates with the Alexander Mathis group, Allen Institute, and international consortiums on open-source neuroscience tools.
Anina Schwarzenbach is a political sociologist and criminologist at the Institute of Penal Law and Criminology , University of Bern, and a research associate at the Institute of Sociological Research , University of Geneva. She explores the intersection of social identities, social norms, and digital technologies in shaping migration, discrimination, and violence in democratic societies. Current affiliations: University of Bern (Department of Law), University of Geneva (IRS) Former affiliations: Harvard Kennedy School’s Cyber Project, Belfer Center (International Security Program), University of Maryland (Criminology and Criminal Justice), Max-Planck Institute for Foreign Criminal Law and Criminology Research Themes Her research integrates theoretical insights with computational methods to analyze: Social identity representation : Dynamics of identity construction in digital discourse around extremism. Democratic norms and AI : Societal adaptation to AI and its impact on democratic institutions. Networks of political violence : Structural analysis of extremist group coordination. Recent Article Trends Her recent work focuses on social network analysis of Islamist co-offending, homophily, and transitivity in extremism. Grants and Fellowships Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) University of Bern Fondazione Leonardo Belfer Center’s International Security Program (Harvard) Harvard Kennedy School’s Cyber Project Collaborations and Networks Affiliated with the Swiss Centre of Expertise in Life Course Research (LIVES), Digital Society Initiative (University of Zurich), Global Young Academy (200 elected members), and Board Member of the Academy of Sociology.
Prof. Dr. Kurt Stockinger is a Professor of Computer Science at ZHAW School of Engineering and holds a doctorate at the University of Zurich . He serves as Head of the MAS Data Science program and co-leads the ZHAW Datalab . His research focuses on Intelligent Information Systems , bridging information systems, natural language processing, and machine learning. Affiliated with the University of Zurich, he contributes to Quantum Machine Learning and Open Data Exploration initiatives. Stockinger's educational background includes a PhD in Computer Science (University of Vienna & CERN), a Master in Business Informatics (University of Vienna), and a CAS in Didactics & Methodology (ZHAW). He has taught courses in Quantum Computing , Big Data for Natural Sciences , and Data Science programs at ZHAW and University of Zurich. His research spans Data Science , Big Data , Natural Language Query Processing , Knowledge Graphs , and Quantum Machine Learning . Recent publications focus on quantum autoencoders , hybrid quantum neural networks , and prompt engineering for knowledge graph question answering. He has developed frameworks like ScienceBenchmark for real-world NL-to-SQL evaluation and NQuest for natural language query exploration. Scientific awards include the Best Paper Award at 7th Swiss Conference on Data Science (2020) He leads major projects such as DataGEMS (Data Discovery Platform, Horizon Europe) Digital Health Zurich (Clinical Innovation Lab) INODE4StatBot.swiss (NL-to-SQL Translation) GraphQueryML (Graph Database Optimization) ScienceBenchmark (NL-to-SQL Evaluation) Stockinger's work intersects with computer vision , biomedical data , and industrial applications , demonstrated through collaborations with institutions like Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, CERN, and University of Washington. He has contributed to establishing QuantumBasel and ZHAW Datalab as research hubs.
Prof. Dr. Kerstin Denecke is a Professor at Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) in the Engineering and Computer Science department, where she co-leads the Institute for Patient-centered Digital Health (PCDH). She maintains an affiliate position at the University of Victoria's School of Health Information Science and has conducted research visits at Canadian and New Zealand institutions. Her academic journey includes leadership roles in national and EU research projects, heading the 'Digital Patient Model' research group at Leipzig University prior to joining BFH in 2015. Dr. Denecke's research focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare, with particular expertise in natural language processing, conversational agents, and patient-centered digital health solutions. Her work spans multiple clinical domains including mental health interventions, radiology documentation, and suicide prevention. She employs participatory design methodologies that actively involve healthcare professionals and patients in the development process. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on the practical application of large language models in clinical settings, ethical considerations in healthcare AI, and the development of taxonomies for conversational agents. Her research demonstrates a consistent trajectory toward making AI tools clinically usable while addressing real-world healthcare challenges. Young Talent Award of the Friedrich Wingert Foundation for outstanding approaches in medical linguistics and semantics Best Poster Award at MIE 2021 for 'Crowdsourcing for Creating a Dataset for Training a Medication Chatbot' Professor Denecke actively supervises bachelor, master, and PhD students, with current doctoral candidates working on medical text classification, social media chatbots for physical activity, and NLP applications in radiology. Her research is supported by multiple active grants including Innosuisse-funded projects on generative AI for clinical documentation. She leads the PCDH/AI for Health research unit which develops practical AI solutions for healthcare challenges while maintaining strong connections with clinical partners. The Institute for Patient-centered Digital Health under her co-leadership focuses on developing human-centered digital health solutions that address real clinical needs through interdisciplinary collaboration between computer scientists, healthcare professionals, and patients.
Sylvia Bendel Larcher serves as a Lecturer at the Institute for Communication and Marketing within the School of Business at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. With appointments spanning multiple institutions including the University of Bern and University of Innsbruck, her academic career demonstrates deep expertise in linguistic analysis of professional communication. She maintains active research collaborations while contributing to editorial work at the Reformed Church of Uri since 2024. Her educational background includes a Dr. phil. from the University of Zurich and a PD Dr. habil. from the University of Bern, establishing her scholarly foundation in linguistic analysis. These qualifications support her extensive research in conversation patterns across various professional contexts. Bendel Larcher's research focuses on the intersection of linguistic theory and practical business communication. Her work examines conversation structures in agile teams, institutional discourse patterns, and historical advertising rhetoric. Recent publications reveal growing interest in technology-mediated communication, particularly how AI tools like ChatGPT interact with traditional linguistic analysis methods. She investigates how personality manifests in professional interactions and how communication quality can be systematically evaluated in organizational settings. Her 15 most recent publications demonstrate consistent output across multiple formats - books, journal articles, and conference presentations - with increasing attention to digital communication environments. The research shows evolution from traditional discourse analysis toward hybrid methodologies incorporating computational approaches while maintaining core linguistic principles. Her professional activities extend beyond academia to practical applications in organizational settings. She has served as Public Relations Officer for the Evangelical-Reformed Parish of Einsiedeln (2012-2016) and currently edits for the Reformed Church of Uri. Her work bridges theoretical linguistic research with real-world communication challenges in business and institutional contexts. Bendel Larcher leads several research initiatives including 'Videotaped professional practice for the business world,' 'Business book summary using natural language generation,' and 'Interaction profile and personality.' These projects reflect her commitment to applying linguistic analysis to contemporary business communication challenges while exploring the relationship between individual personality and professional discourse patterns.
Matthes Fleck serves as Professor and Director of the Institute for Communication and Marketing (IKM) at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, School of Business, leading research initiatives since 2010 with expertise spanning digital communication, social media strategy, and AI-driven marketing analytics. His leadership drives industry-relevant projects examining Switzerland's sharing economy landscape and intelligent transportation systems. Academic credentials include a Doctorate in Business Administration (Dr. oec.) from University of St. Gallen (2011) and Master of Arts in Journalism and Business Administration from Freie Universität Berlin (2006), establishing an interdisciplinary foundation for his research. This dual expertise enables rigorous analysis of corporate communication through both business strategy and media theory lenses. Research focuses on digital transformation's impact on business communication, with three interconnected pillars: social media dynamics in corporate contexts (examining CSR blogging and stakeholder engagement), sharing economy strategic frameworks (particularly through projects like Sharecity), and artificial intelligence applications for marketing analytics. Methodologically, Fleck pioneers natural language processing techniques to analyze economic news coverage, corporate culture statements, and chatbot efficacy—evidenced by his 2022 agenda-setting study of pandemic-related economic reporting and 2021 assessment of AI mental health solutions for elderly populations. Recent publication trends (2020-2022) reveal intensified focus on pandemic-era digital adaptations, with 60% of recent work applying computational linguistics to crisis communication and health tech. Cross-cutting themes include ethical considerations in AI deployment, data-driven branding for SMEs, and social media's evolving role in stakeholder capitalism—demonstrating consistent alignment between technical methodology and strategic business application. No scientific awards or major honors were documented in source materials. Research leadership manifests through continuous project funding including "Mobile als Innovator in Marketing" (2017), "B2B Social Media" (2014), and current AI/mobility initiatives, though specific grant amounts remain undisclosed. As IKM Director, Fleck manages a multidisciplinary team conducting industry-partnered research in mobile marketing analytics and social media impact measurement, positioning the institute as Switzerland's hub for applied communication science in digital business transformation.
