Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of BonnGermany
Carl Vondrick is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Columbia University. His research focuses on creating robust and versatile perception systems that leverage video and interaction with the natural world, with applications in 3D reconstruction, visual question answering, and robot manipulation. Former research scientist at Google Visiting researcher at Cruise Education: PhD (2017) from MIT, advised by Antonio Torralba BS (2011) from UC Irvine, advised by Deva Ramanan His research explores multimodal approaches for cross-task and cross-modal transfer, scene dynamics, audiovisual perception, interpretable models, and spatial awareness systems. The lab emphasizes zero-shot generalization and neuro-symbolic methods while addressing safety and robustness in AI systems. Key publication trends include: 2025: Video generation for robotics 2024: Differentiable rendering and cross-modal reasoning 2023: Robust perception and 3D modeling Scientific Awards: 2024 PAMI Young Researcher Award 2021 NSF CAREER Award Teaching Roles: Teaching Computer Vision II (2021-2025), Computer Vision I (2018-2019), and Representation Learning (2020-2022). Advising: Advises 8 current PhD students and has mentored 5 graduated students now at institutions like MBZUAI and UMD. The lab recruits 1-2 PhD students annually through Columbia’s PhD program. Grants and Collaborations: Funded by NSF, DARPA, Toyota Research Institute, Amazon Research, and Google.
Xingang Pan is an Assistant Professor in the College of Computing and Data Science at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), leading the MMLab@NTU. His research focuses on generative AI and visual content creation, particularly in generative models, 3D vision, computer graphics, and computer vision. Prior to NTU, he was a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics and earned his Ph.D. from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2021) and B.Sc. from Tsinghua University (2016). His work emphasizes generative intelligence, exploring long-term world simulation, diffusion models, and multi-scale 3D generation. Notable contributions include WORLDMEM (2025), Alias-free Latent Diffusion (2025), and SAR3D (2025). His research has been published in top venues like CVPR, ICCV, and SIGGRAPH. Xingang Pan oversees the MMLab@NTU, which actively recruits students globally without nationality constraints. The lab’s projects include GAN2Shape (unsupervised 3D reconstruction from 2D GANs) and LN3Diff (scalable 3D generation).
Prof. Alois Christian Knoll is a full professor at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in the School of Computation, Information and Technology. His academic career includes roles at Bielefeld University and leadership in major EU initiatives like the Human Brain Project and ECHORD++. He specializes in robotics, AI, and autonomous systems, with a focus on medical robotics, sensor-based systems, and neuromorphic engineering. Knoll has supervised over 100 doctoral theses and authored/co-authored over 1,000 publications. Education: Diploma in Electrical Engineering (University of Stuttgart, 1985); PhD in Computer Science (Technical University of Berlin, 1988); Habilitation (TU Berlin, 1993). He has been at TUM since 2001, leading the Robotics, AI, and Real-Time Systems department. Research interests span autonomous systems, neuro-IT integration, and traffic simulation. Key projects include fortiss (Bavarian State Institute for Computer Science) and TUM-CREATE (Singapore collaboration). Awards include IEEE Fellow, University of Tokyo Fellow, and the Carl-Ramsauer-Prize (1990). Current roles include editorships in robotics journals, leadership in EU flagship projects, and teaching across multiple programs. His work bridges computer science, neuroscience, and engineering, with applications in healthcare, automotive systems, and urban mobility.
Xiaowei Jia is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (supervised by Prof. Vipin Kumar) and B.S./M.S. degrees from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and SUNY Buffalo. His research focuses on integrating scientific theory with machine learning to address societal and environmental challenges, such as climate modeling, hydrology, and fairness in AI. Education: Ph.D., University of Minnesota (2020) M.S., State University of New York at Buffalo B.S., University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) Research Interests: Knowledge-Guided Machine Learning Spatiotemporal Data Mining Fairness in AI for Social Good Applications in Environmental Science and Healthcare Publications showcase his work on physics-integrated neural networks, spatiotemporal modeling (e.g., water temperature prediction), and fairness-aware algorithms. His work has been recognized with Best Paper awards at SIAM SDM (2022, 2023). Awards include the Best Applied Data Science Paper Award at SIAM SDM in 2022 and 2023. He teaches advanced machine learning courses, emphasizing theory integration with real-world applications.
Prof. Bernt Schiele is a Max Planck Director at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics and holds a Professorship at Saarland University. His research focuses on understanding multimodal sensor data, with key areas in computer vision, 3D object recognition, and machine learning. He leads the Computer Vision and Machine Learning group, addressing challenges in sensor fusion, scene understanding, and human activity recognition. Schiele has held academic roles at TU Darmstadt, ETH Zurich, and MIT, and contributes to top journals like IEEE Transactions on PAMI and conferences like ECCV. His work emphasizes robust models, interpretability, and domain adaptation for real-world applications. Education: PhD (1997, Grenoble), MSc (1994 Karlsruhe/1993 Grenoble) Key Positions: MIT (1997-2000), ETH Zurich (1999-2004), TU Darmstadt (2004-2010) Research interests span 3D scene understanding, multimodal sensor processing, and machine learning techniques for large-scale data. His recent work advances robust object detection, explainable AI, and domain-invariant training methods. He also chairs major conferences like ECCV 2018 and co-chairs ICCV 2011. Publications highlight innovations in interpretable vision transformers, certified explanations, and test-time adaptation. Despite no listed awards, his contributions shape foundational areas of computer vision and multimodal AI.
Professor Matthias Mann is a world-leading scientist serving as Director of the Proteomics and Signal Transduction department at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany, and Director of the Proteomics department at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. With an h-index exceeding 277 and over 350,000 citations, he is recognized as the highest cited German researcher and one of the most influential scientists globally in proteomics. His educational background includes: Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Yale University (1988) Master's Degree in Physics from Georg August University Göttingen (1984) Bachelor's of Arts in Mathematics from Georg August University Göttingen (1982) Professor Mann's research focuses on advancing mass spectrometry-based proteomics to understand biological systems at the protein level. His work spans technological developments in mass spectrometry, bioinformatics and computational analysis, signal transduction and posttranslational modifications, and clinical proteomics applications for disease diagnosis and treatment. The Mann lab has pioneered groundbreaking methods like SILAC for quantitative proteomics and MaxQuant for proteome data analysis. Their vision is to translate proteomics knowledge into clinical practice for predictive, diagnostic, and preventive medicine, with recent work focusing on AI-guided platforms for analyzing proteomes from minimal tissue samples. Analysis of Professor Mann's recent publications reveals a strong trend toward clinical applications of proteomics, particularly in cancer research, metabolic diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders. His work increasingly integrates spatial proteomics, single-cell resolution techniques, and artificial intelligence approaches to uncover disease mechanisms and identify potential biomarkers, with a clear shift from basic technology development toward direct clinical applications and personalized medicine. Professor Mann has received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career: 2025: Elected member of the American National Academy of Sciences 2024: Dr. H.P. Heineken Award for Biochemistry and Biophysics 2023: Otto Warburg Medal 2019: Nominated member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences 2013: Elected member of Leopoldina German National Academy of Sciences 2012: Körber European Science Award, Louis-Jeantet Foundation Prize for Medicine, Ernst Schering Prize, and Leibniz Prize Professor Mann leads a highly collaborative research team involved in multiple international networks including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, CLINSPECT-M, and Munich Heart Alliance. His lab has mentored numerous successful researchers, with several former postdocs receiving prestigious ERC Starting Grants. The Mann group has developed innovative clinical proteomics pipelines for analyzing archived tissue specimens and body fluids, aiming to identify protein markers for early detection of diseases such as diabetes and cancer. The Mann lab operates across two major research centers with state-of-the-art mass spectrometry facilities. Their Clinical Knowledge Graph platform integrates multi-omics data with extensive metadata, creating an ecosystem for machine learning applications in proteomics. Current research focuses on developing highly sensitive methods that can profile thousands of proteins from minimal cell samples, enabling the identification of critical disease-related proteins and supporting the development of individualized therapies.
Xiaoxiao Long is a Tenure-Track Associate Professor at the School of Intelligence Science and Technology, Nanjing University. He joined NJU as an associate professor in February 2024. Previously, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) under the supervision of Prof. Wenping Wang (IEEE & ACM Fellow) and Prof. Taku Komura. His educational background includes: Ph.D. in Computer Science from University of Hong Kong Bachelor's degree in Control Science & Engineering from Zhejiang University Dr. Long's research focuses on computer graphics and 3D computer vision, with particular emphasis on 3D Vision, Physical AI, and World Models. His long-term goal is to develop General-Purpose AI with spatial capabilities. His work bridges theoretical understanding of 3D spaces with practical implementations of spatial AI systems, with applications spanning robotics, virtual reality, and augmented environments. He employs innovative neural network approaches and geometric constraints to advance 3D scene understanding and reconstruction. His publication record shows strong momentum with multiple papers accepted to top-tier conferences including CVPR (5 papers in 2025 alone), ICML, ICLR, ECCV, and TPAMI. His research demonstrates a clear progression from foundational geometric estimation techniques (ASN++) toward more comprehensive spatial AI systems. His scientific recognition includes: Excellent Young Scholars Fund (Overseas) from NSFC Dr. Long has successfully mentored numerous students who have published at major venues and gone on to pursue advanced degrees at prestigious institutions including USTC, Beihang University, HKU, UCAS, Virginia Tech, and HKUST. He is currently recruiting Ph.D. and master's students for Fall 2026, seeking candidates interested in pushing the boundaries of 3D computer vision and spatial AI. His laboratory focuses on developing advanced techniques for 3D scene understanding, neural rendering, and physical AI. Current projects span Gaussian-based representations, neural radiance fields, and geometric estimation, with applications in robotics, virtual environments, and spatial reasoning systems.
Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of BonnGermany
Prof. Waldemar Kolanus leads the Molecular Immunology and Cell Biology department at the University of Bonn's Life & Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES) . His research bridges immunoregulation , stem cell dynamics , and metabolic stress responses in immune cells. Unit 2 member at LIMES Principal investigator in SFB 704 and ImmunoSensation Cluster Leads a multidisciplinary lab with postdocs, PhD students, and technical staff His work focuses on intracellular signaling pathways connecting immune activation to tissue homeostasis, particularly through: Cytohesin proteins in integrin-mediated adhesion and migration TRIM71 in stem cell regulation and congenital hydrocephalus High-salt environments affecting macrophage function Publication trends show expertise in immune cell migration , genetic models , and chemical inhibition , with frequent use of mice and zebrafish for in vivo studies. Key articles explore: TRIM71's dual role in auditory development and germ cell maintenance Cytohesin family's Golgi regulation and insulin signaling Ruxolitinib's off-target migration inhibition of dendritic cells Contact details: Address: LIMES Institute, Carl-Troll-Straße 31, Bonn Email: kolanus.sekretariat@uni-bonn.de Phone: +49 228 73-62788
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. Deniz Tasdemir is a Full Professor (W3) of Marine Natural Products Chemistry at GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel and serves as Director of the GEOMAR-Biotech center and Head of the Marine Natural Product Chemistry Research Unit. Her career spans institutions including the National University of Ireland Galway and UCL School of Pharmacy. PhD in Pharmacy, ETH Zurich (1997) Post-doctoral work, University of Utah (2001) Dr. Helmut Legerlotz Fellowship, University of Zurich (2002-2025) Her research focuses on marine chemical ecology , metabolomics , and bioprospecting for bioactive compounds from sponges, algae, and marine microbiomes. Recent work explores seagrass pathogen reduction, microbiome interactions, and aquafeed applications. Scientific awards include: Waters Award for Natural Products Innovation (2016) Egon Stahl Silver Medal (2005) Pierre Fabre Prize (2004) ETH Zurich Medal (1997) She leads collaborative projects on ocean sustainability and marine drug discovery, with editorial roles in Marine Drugs , Planta Medica , and Phytochemistry Letters .
Helmholtz Association of German Research CentersGermany
Dr. Sabine Krabbe is a Group Leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn, Germany, where she leads research on neural circuit mechanisms underlying adaptive learning and state-dependent decision-making. Her work integrates neuroscience, molecular biology, and behavioral approaches to understand how internal states influence behavior and how these processes are disrupted in neurological disorders. Dr. Krabbe's research focuses on the interactions between midbrain circuits of the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area with their output structures such as the striatum and amygdala. She investigates how these networks integrate internal states with environmental cues to produce appropriate behavioral responses. Her laboratory employs state-of-the-art techniques including deep-brain calcium imaging at single-cell resolution in mice, opto- and pharmacogenetic manipulations, anatomical tracings, and molecular approaches to characterize neural circuit elements in detail. Her recent publications reveal significant insights into amygdala interneuron plasticity during fear learning, brain-wide representational drift in memory consolidation, and the molecular mechanisms underlying Parkinson's disease progression. Her work demonstrates how activity patterns within specific neural circuits change in early stages of neurodegenerative diseases and how this dysfunction contributes to cognitive deficits and emotional disturbances. Dr. Krabbe is actively involved in the neuroscience community, organizing the BonnBrain Conference 2026 and sharing research through social media platforms. She has established herself as an emerging leader in the field of systems neuroscience with a particular focus on the neural basis of emotional states and decision-making processes.
Gregory D. Hager is the Mandell Bellmore Professor of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University, with joint appointments in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and the Department of Surgery at the School of Medicine. He serves as the head of the NSF's Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate (as of 2024) and is the founding director of the Johns Hopkins Malone Center for Engineering in Healthcare. Previously, he chaired the Department of Computer Science from 2010-2015 and served as deputy director of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology. Hager's research focuses on collaborative and vision-based robotics, time-series analysis of image data, and medical applications of image analysis and robotics. His work spans surgical robotics, human-machine collaboration, and computer vision with applications in healthcare. As director of the Computational Interaction and Robotics Lab (CIRL), he investigates dynamic spatial interaction at the intersection of imaging, robotics, and human-computer interaction. His research has led to real-world applications in surgical training, medical imaging, diagnostics, and computer-enhanced interventional medicine. Hager's publications demonstrate consistent advancement in surgical data science, with recent work focusing on 3D reconstruction from endoscopic video, surgical skill assessment using AI, and robotic assistance in neurosurgery. His research trajectory shows increasing integration of deep learning with surgical robotics, particularly in real-time guidance systems and objective skill assessment metrics. IEEE Fellow MICCAI Fellow ACM Fellow AIMBE Fellow AAAS Fellow MICCAI Best Paper Award (2006) Fulbright Junior Faculty Award (1988) Morris Ruben Outstanding Dissertation Award (1988) Hager has advised numerous PhD students who have become leaders in computer vision and medical robotics. His lab has secured significant research funding, including NSF Engineering Research Center support. He co-founded two successful startups: Clear Guide Medical (ultrasound-guided procedures) and Ready Robotics (industrial robot usability). As chair of the Computing Community Consortium and member of the International Federation of Robotics Research board, he has shaped national research agendas in computing and robotics. Hager leads the Computational Interaction and Robotics Lab (CIRL), which is associated with the NSF Engineering Research Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology (ERC-CISST) and the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics (LCSR). His team collaborates extensively with clinicians at Johns Hopkins Hospital to translate robotics research into clinical practice.
Max Planck Institute of Colloids and InterfacesGermany
Dr. Yolanda Gil is a Research Professor in Computer Science and Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California, where she serves as Principal Scientist and Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at the Information Sciences Institute (ISI). She is also the Director of AI and Data Science Initiatives in the Viterbi School of Engineering and leads the USC Center for Knowledge-Guided Interdisciplinary Data Science (CKIDS). Dr. Gil received her Licenciatura in Computer Science from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University, with a focus on artificial intelligence and cognitive science. Her research focuses on developing AI approaches that use knowledge to accelerate scientific discovery processes. Her key research interests include knowledge capture and representation, semantic workflows, ontology tools, scientific discovery methods, task-based collaboration, provenance tracking, knowledge networks, reproducibility in science, and machine learning for data analysis. She collaborates with scientists across multiple domains to improve how scientific knowledge is created, shared, and used. Dr. Gil's work has significant impact across multiple scientific domains including climate science, neuroscience, and omics research. Her projects demonstrate her commitment to building knowledge-guided systems that transform how scientists conduct research. She has pioneered approaches to capture the provenance of scientific experiments and to automate the analysis of complex scientific data. Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) 24th President of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence Co-chair of the CRA/AAAI 20-Year Artificial Intelligence Research Roadmap for the US Initiator and leader of the W3C Provenance Group that resulted in a widely-used standard for web trust As an educator and leader, Dr. Gil directs the Data Science Program in Computer Science and serves as Co-Director of multiple joint MSc programs including Communication Data Science, Spatial Data Science, Environmental Data Science, Public Policy Data Science, and Healthcare Data Science. She also leads the new dual degree USC-Tsinghua University on Communication Data Science. Her leadership extends to mentoring numerous students and researchers in AI and data science. Through the USC Center for Knowledge-Guided Interdisciplinary Data Science (CKIDS), Dr. Gil organizes DataFest events each semester, fostering collaboration and innovation in data science across disciplines.
Marc Erich Latoschik is a Professor in the Department of Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Würzburg, Germany. He previously held roles at Bayreuth University, Bielefeld University, and FHTW Berlin. His research focuses on virtual and augmented reality, embodiment, human-computer interaction, and applications in health, education, and social systems. Education: Completed his PhD in 2001 at Bielefeld University with a thesis on multimodal interaction in virtual reality. Research Interests: Embodied interaction, virtual embodiment, presence and plausibility in VR/AR, avatar design, social virtual reality, health applications (e.g., VR therapy for body image issues), and XR security/privacy. Active in developing frameworks like Reality Stack I/O and MAIL for VR/AR research. Key Projects: ViTraS study on body image exercises in VR, avatars for mass use via smartphone reconstruction, and motion-based biometrics in XR. Collaborates with medical teams on cybersickness detection and emergency training simulations. Labs/Teams: Leads research groups on immersive technologies and social VR applications. Involved in interdisciplinary projects combining HCI, AI, and healthcare.
Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife ResearchGermany
Omer Bayraktar is a Group Leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute , leading research in the Cellular Genomics Programme. His work focuses on decoding human brain cellular diversity using spatial transcriptomics , imaging , and functional screening to study neural complexity in health and disease. Bayraktar's educational background includes a PhD from HHMI under Chris Doe, investigating neural diversity development in Drosophila , followed by postdoctoral work at University of California, San Francisco and University of Cambridge as a Life Sciences Research Foundation Fellow. He developed a spatial transcriptomic pipeline during his postdoc to analyze astrocyte heterogeneity in the cerebral cortex. His research explores neural cell type mapping , glial-neuronal interactions , and cellular pathways in neurodevelopmental disorders . Recent publications emphasize 3D tissue mapping , multi-omic integration , and computational tools like Cell2fate and WebAtlas. His work bridges neurogenetics and computational biology to advance understanding of human tissue ecosystems. Bayraktar's lab collaborates with the Human Cell Atlas initiative and develops technologies such as automated histology pipelines and highly-multiplexed smFISH for molecular cell typing. His team also investigates glia-based therapies and astrocyte functional heterogeneity in neurodevelopmental contexts. Key scientific contributions include: Discovering astrocyte layer patterns independent of neuronal laminae Developing cell2location for spatial cell mapping Characterizing Drosophila neural stem cell models with human relevance Notable awards include the Life Sciences Research Foundation Fellowship during his postdoctoral training. His current group includes a PhD student , Senior Data Scientists , and Bioinformaticians .
