Why should students be interested in your research topics? What makes them so fascinating?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our society, and whilst that is certainly exciting, we must also prepare ourselves for new opportunities and challenges. My work focuses on new paradigms in machine learning to improve the sustainability, transparency and reliability of AI. This work is extremely important not only because of its potential to fundamentally change the way we use and develop AI systems, but also because it may one day help us to unlock the secrets of intelligent behaviour in both artificial and natural beings.

At TU Darmstadt, interdisciplinarity is a top priority. In your field of work, where do you find overlaps with other disciplines?

My research focuses on machine learning and Bayesian methods. I am an expert in statistics, optimisation and control. Over the years, I have collaborated with many researchers from the field of engineering on problems in the areas of communication, complex systems and game theory, among others. The methods I use are closely related to those employed in the natural and social sciences, including cognitive science, psychology, economics, philosophy, biology, mathematics and physics. I would like to get in touch with and collaborate with relevant departments at TU Darmstadt.

Which department at TU would you like to spend a day getting to know? Why?

I find it hard to choose just one department, but I have enjoyed learning from cognitive scientists, psychologists, physicists and biologists in the past. I am fascinated by complex systems consisting of several interacting units (whether intelligent or not) and by the way these interactions can lead to new and interesting patterns. Such phenomena are common in nature, and I would like to get to know and understand them better.

If I were a student today, I would…

… do what I did back then: be curious, think deeply, and enjoy myself.

The best way for me to unwind after a stressful day at work is…

… to spend time with my family in the countryside, either hiking, swimming or camping, or just being together.

Questions were asked by Michaela Hütig.