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. Laura Leal-Taixé is a Professor at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in the Department of Informatics, leading the Dynamic Vision and Learning group. She holds the Rudolf Mößbauer Tenure Track Assistant Professorship, promoted to W3 Associate Professorship in 2022. Her research focuses on computer vision and machine learning, particularly video analysis, multi-object tracking, and autonomous driving applications. Education: B.Sc./M.Sc. in Telecommunications Engineering (Technical University of Catalonia, UPC) Ph.D. in Information Processing (Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany) Postdoctoral Research at ETH Zürich (Switzerland) and TUM Research Interests: Laura’s work addresses challenges in video analysis, including motion analysis, semantic segmentation, and integrating social dynamics into urban traffic modeling. Her project socialMaps , funded by the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award, explores decoupling vehicle and pedestrian traffic using dynamic maps. Her research combines optimization techniques, deep learning, and sensor data for real-world applications like autonomous systems. Recent Trends: Her publications highlight advancements in multi-object tracking, 3D LiDAR segmentation, and trajectory forecasting, emphasizing neural networks and geometric approaches. Collaborations with industry and academia underscore her work’s practical impact. Awards: 2017 Sofja Kovalevskaja Award (€1.65M, Humboldt Foundation) 2017 DAAD Australia-German Joint Research Grant Travel grants from Women in CV, CVPR Doctoral Consortium, and Vodafone Foundation Labs & Projects: Leads the Dynamic Vision and Learning group at TUM, focusing on vision-based AI for autonomous systems and environmental monitoring. Active in developing datasets like DynamicEarthNet for semantic change analysis.
Nils Fleischhacker is an Assistant Professor for Cryptography at Ruhr University Bochum, where he leads the Theoretical Cryptography group within the Faculty of Computer Science. His research focuses on foundational aspects of cryptography with particular emphasis on zero-knowledge proofs, digital signatures, and secure computation. Prior to joining Ruhr University, he held postdoctoral positions at Johns Hopkins University and Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Fleischhacker received his PhD in Computer Science from Saarland University in February 2017, advised by Dominique Schröder. During his doctoral studies, he was a research intern at Microsoft Research with Chris Brzuska and a research visitor at the University of Maryland, College Park with Jonathan Katz and Dana Dachman-Soled. His research spans theoretical cryptography with significant contributions to zero-knowledge proofs, multi-signature schemes, property-preserving hash functions, and security proofs for cryptographic primitives. Fleischhacker's work often addresses fundamental questions about the limits and possibilities of cryptographic constructions, with particular attention to black-box separations and lower bounds. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on lattice-based cryptography and post-quantum secure protocols. Fleischhacker's publications over the past five years reveal a consistent research trajectory focused on improving the efficiency and security of cryptographic primitives, with particular emphasis on signature schemes, zero-knowledge protocols, and secure computation frameworks. His work frequently appears in top-tier cryptography venues including CRYPTO, EUROCRYPT, and CCS. Dr. Fleischhacker actively mentors PhD students, with numerous successful graduations spanning from 2010 to 2024. His former PhD students include Önder Askin (2024), Floyd Zweydinger (2023), and Lars Schlieper (2022), among others. His research is supported through various academic channels and collaborations. He is affiliated with several prominent research organizations including the Horst Görtz Institute (HGI) for Information Security, the DFG Excellence Cluster CASA, the EU Marie Curie Network QSI, and the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR). These affiliations provide a strong institutional framework for his theoretical cryptography research.
Julian McAuley is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering. His research spans recommender systems, machine learning, natural language processing, music information retrieval, and multimodal learning. He maintains an active research group with numerous PhD students and postdocs working on cutting-edge AI problems. His research interests focus on developing advanced algorithms for personalized recommendation systems, with particular emphasis on sequential recommendation, multimodal learning, and integrating large language models with traditional recommendation approaches. His work bridges the gap between theoretical machine learning and practical applications across multiple domains including e-commerce, music, and healthcare. McAuley has published extensively in top-tier conferences including NeurIPS, ICML, KDD, SIGIR, and ACL, with his most recent work exploring the intersection of large language models and recommendation systems. His publications reveal a strong trend toward multimodal approaches that combine text, vision, and audio for more comprehensive understanding and recommendation. He has received significant research funding from major technology companies including Google, Amazon, Facebook, Adobe, and Samsung, as well as government agencies like the National Science Foundation and Department of Defense. His work has practical applications across multiple industries, with a focus on improving user experience through better personalization. McAuley advises numerous PhD students who have gone on to successful careers at leading technology companies and academic institutions. His former students include Wang-Cheng Kang and Jianmo Ni at Google DeepMind, Chris Donahue and Zachary Lipton as assistant professors at CMU, and Ruining He at Google Deepmind.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rüdiger Daub serves as Professor and Chair of Production Engineering and Energy Storage Systems at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), operating within the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His leadership encompasses research direction, academic supervision, and strategic development of battery production technologies at TUM's Garching campus (Boltzmannstr. 15), with active industry collaborations driving innovation in sustainable manufacturing. Daub's research program pioneers advanced production methodologies for lithium-ion and solid-state batteries, focusing on electrode manufacturing, electrolyte filling, and cell assembly processes. His work investigates critical parameter interdependencies affecting battery safety and performance, developing inline monitoring systems and digital twin technologies for real-time process optimization. Key contributions include moisture control in electrode production, electrochemo-mechanical characterization of solid-state systems, and robotics solutions for deformable object assembly, all integrated with machine learning for quality assurance in industrial settings. Analysis of his 2023-2025 publications reveals a dominant research trajectory toward solving production bottlenecks in next-generation energy storage. The work demonstrates increasing integration of computational modeling with empirical validation, particularly in solid-state battery manufacturing and high-voltage electrolyte systems. A notable trend is the cross-pollination of robotics, computer vision, and uncertainty quantification techniques to address complex assembly challenges and distribution shifts in quality monitoring, reflecting industry's urgent need for adaptable, data-driven production systems. Leading TUM's specialized laboratories for battery cell production, Daub's team maintains comprehensive facilities for electrode calendering, electrolyte filling, and cell assembly with integrated tracking and tracing capabilities. The research infrastructure supports collaborative projects with automotive OEMs and battery manufacturers to develop scalable production processes, emphasizing environmental sustainability through water-based electrode production and footprint optimization. Current initiatives focus on digital factory modeling and prelithiation technologies for next-generation battery systems.
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. Dr. Marcello Romano is a Professor at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) , holding the Chair of Astrodynamics since January 2025. With a career spanning over two decades, he has served as a founding director of the Spacecraft Robotics Lab at the Naval Postgraduate School and held visiting professorships at TUM, NASA Ames, and Stanford University. Doctorate in Aerospace Engineering - Politecnico di Milano (2001) National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow His research focuses on spaceflight mechanics , integrating theoretical analysis, simulation, and flight testing to advance: Rotational and orbital maneuvering of satellites Autonomous GNC systems Orbital robotics for debris removal Space-enabled sustainability initiatives Recent publications highlight his work in convex programming for orbital capture , aerodynamic attitude stabilization , and multi-spacecraft rendezvous maneuvers . He has received prestigious awards including the Patti Grace Smith Award and AIAA Associate Fellowship . Prof. Romano contributes to the field through: Leadership in the International Academy of Astronautics Development of advanced space systems Technology transfer and innovation projects
Vijay Laxmi is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT) Jaipur, India. With over a decade of active research publication from 2014-2024, Dr. Laxmi has established themselves as a prominent researcher in network security, Android security systems, and Network-on-Chip architectures. Their work demonstrates consistent collaboration with Manoj Singh Gaur and numerous doctoral students at MNIT Jaipur. Dr. Laxmi's research interests span Network Security, Android Security, Malware Analysis, Network-on-Chip Architectures, Routing Protocols, Side-Channel Attacks, Wireless Networks, and Mobile Security. Their work bridges theoretical security frameworks with practical implementations, particularly in mobile and embedded systems. Recent publications indicate a growing focus on AI-based security approaches including GAN applications for fuzzing and deep learning for image dehazing. The research trajectory shows increasing sophistication in security analysis techniques, evolving from basic malware detection to advanced side-channel attack analysis and sophisticated network security protocols. Recent publications demonstrate expertise in both theoretical frameworks and practical implementations with applications in real-world security challenges. Dr. Laxmi has mentored numerous graduate students including Vineeta Jain, Anugrah Jain, Sonal Yadav, Mohit Singh, and Gaurav Singal, who appear as co-authors across multiple publications. Their collaborative network extends to researchers at international institutions, indicating strong academic connections beyond their home institution.
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.
Achim Menges is a Research Professor and Max Planck Fellow at the University of Stuttgart, where he directs the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD). His work bridges architecture, engineering, and computational design, with a focus on developing innovative construction methods and materials. Menges leads the Cluster of Excellence IntCDC: Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture, a major research initiative funded by the German Research Foundation. Menges' research centers on computational design, robotic construction, and biomimetic architecture, with particular emphasis on timber construction, adaptive building systems, and digital fabrication. His work integrates principles from bionics to create responsive, sustainable building systems that adapt to environmental conditions. Notable projects include the BUGA Wood Pavilion (2019), Urbach Tower, BUGA Fibre Pavilion, and the livMatS Biomimetic Shell, all demonstrating his commitment to material innovation and sustainable construction practices. His recent publications reveal a consistent focus on advancing timber construction techniques, developing bio-inspired responsive systems, and implementing robotic fabrication processes. The research shows a clear trajectory toward more sustainable, resource-efficient building methods that integrate digital design with physical construction processes. Menges' work increasingly addresses multi-story timber systems and circular construction principles. Bauwende Prize der Universität Stuttgart 2025 Menges leads numerous research initiatives through the Cluster of Excellence IntCDC, securing significant funding for projects exploring computational design and robotic construction. His work involves extensive collaboration with industry partners and interdisciplinary research teams. Menges directs the ICD research laboratory, which focuses on developing novel computational design methods, robotic fabrication processes, and innovative material systems for architecture. The institute maintains strong partnerships with industry leaders in construction technology and materials science, facilitating the translation of research into practical applications.
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.
Yangruibo Ding is an incoming Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and currently serves as a Postdoctoral Scientist at AWS Agentic AI. He has held significant research positions at Google DeepMind, Amazon AWS AI Labs, and IBM Research, establishing himself as a leading researcher in software engineering with a focus on large language models for code. His research focuses on developing large language models (LLMs) and agentic systems for software engineering. He specializes in training LLMs with advanced symbolic reasoning capabilities for debugging, testing, program analysis, and verification. His work aims to build efficient, collaborative agentic systems for complex software development and maintenance tasks, with particular emphasis on code generation, vulnerability detection, and execution-aware pre-training techniques. Dr. Ding's publication record reveals a strong trajectory toward enhancing code intelligence through comprehensive semantics reasoning and self-refinement approaches. His research spans multiple dimensions of software engineering including code completion, vulnerability detection, model evaluation, and cross-file context understanding, with applications across various programming languages and development environments. Dr. Ding has received numerous prestigious awards recognizing his contributions to the field: IBM Ph.D. Fellowship Award (2022-2024) ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award (2023) IEEE TSE Best Paper Award Runner-up (2022) Ph.D. Service Award, Columbia CS (2025) NSF Student Travel Award for ESEC/FSE'23 (2023) ACM SIGSOFT CAPS Travel Grant (2023) NSF Travel Award for ICSE'22 (2022) As he establishes his research group at UCLA, Dr. Ding is actively seeking students with strong coding skills and experience in large language models, program analysis, verification, or security. He serves on program committees for major conferences including ICSE (2026), ASE (2024, 2025), and ESEC/FSE Artifacts Track (2023), and regularly reviews for top-tier conferences and journals in AI and software engineering. His research is conducted through collaborations with leading industry teams including AWS Agentic AI, Google DeepMind's Learning4Code team, and IBM Research's AI for Code team, creating a robust network of industry-academia partnerships that drive innovation in software engineering research.
Dr. Michael Kleeberger is a Researcher at the Chair of Materials Handling, Material Flow, Logistics (FML) at the Technical University of Munich, based at Boltzmannstr. 15 in Garching. He collaborates closely with Prof. Johannes Fottner and maintains an active research profile in crane dynamics and mechanical systems simulation. His research specializes in Materials Handling and Logistics with emphasis on Crane Dynamics, Flexible Multibody Systems, and Control Systems. He develops advanced models for hydraulic actuated cranes, focusing on dynamic behavior during hoisting, slewing, and trajectory operations using port-Hamiltonian formulations and geometrically exact beam theory. His work bridges theoretical mechanics with industrial applications in heavy machinery. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals consistent focus on numerical methods for flexible crane structures, with growing emphasis on optimal control strategies (2020-2025). Key trends include port-Hamiltonian system applications, lunar crane feasibility studies, and vibration mitigation techniques for lattice boom and knuckle boom configurations across diverse operational scenarios. As part of FML, Dr. Kleeberger contributes to TUM's leadership in logistics engineering through industry-collaborative projects and fundamental research in material flow systems, maintaining the chair's reputation for excellence in mechanical dynamics and practical engineering solutions.
Kord Eickmeyer is a Lecturer at Technische Universität Darmstadt in the Department of Mathematics, specializing in the mathematical logic group. He holds a PhD in mathematics from Humboldt University Berlin and has held postdoctoral positions at TU Darmstadt (2011–2017) and the National Institute of Informatics in Tokyo (2011–2013). His research focuses on finite model theory, graph structure theory, and computational complexity, particularly in descriptive and parameterized complexity, as well as randomization and derandomization techniques. Research interests include exploring the boundaries of computational complexity through logical frameworks, analyzing graph structures for efficient algorithm design, and investigating the role of randomness in computation. His work bridges theoretical computer science and mathematical logic, with applications in algorithm design and formal methods. Publications span topics from model-checking on ordered structures to gap-planar graphs and randomized logics. Collaborations include prominent institutions like the National Institute of Informatics and Humboldt University Berlin. No scientific awards are explicitly listed, but his extensive academic contributions reflect a strong research trajectory. Advising and grants are not detailed in the provided text, though his academic career includes supervision roles during his PhD and postdoctoral phases. His involvement with the mathematical logic group at TU Darmstadt highlights collaborative research efforts in foundational areas of computer science and mathematics.
Chantal Pellegrini is a Lecturer and PhD student at the Chair of Computer Aided Medical Procedures (Prof. Navab) at Technical University of Munich (TUM). Her research focuses on Deep Learning applications in medical imaging, including explainable AI for radiology report generation and Vision-Language Models for clinical decision support. She actively contributes to the DHM, NARVIS Lab, and RobUSt research groups. Teaching responsibilities include courses such as 'Computer Aided Medical Procedures', 'Medical Augmented Reality', and 'Surgical Robotics'. She supervises student projects in medical AI and healthcare innovation, with recent projects involving multimodal report generation and graph pretraining for medical applications. Education: BSc/MSc Computer Science (TUM), current PhD student since 2022 Labs: DHM (German Heart Center), NARVIS Lab, RobUSt Robotics & Ultrasound Research Keywords: Medical Image Understanding, Radiology Reports, LLMs in Healthcare Her publications span surgical OR dataset development, reinforcement learning for clinical decisions, and explainable X-ray diagnosis systems. She mentors MA/BA students in medical AI and project management for healthcare applications.
