New to the Department: Professor Amir Shaikhha
2026/07/08
Amir Shaikhha joined the Department of Computer Science on 1 July as Professor of ‘AI Systems/AI Hardware’. He is also a member of the Hessian Centre for Artificial Intelligence, hessian.AI. His research aims to improve how AI systems are designed to make them more productive, efficient and energy-saving. The 37-year-old researcher, who used to be an Associate Professor at the University of Edinburgh, says that winning the Dahl-Nygaard Young Scientist Award and the Google Research Scholar Award are the most important moments in his academic career so far. We asked Professor Shaikhha a few questions:
Why should students be interested in your research topics? What makes them so interesting?
I'm interested in the areas where computer science meets other fields, like data management, programming languages, systems and artificial intelligence. Modern science and industry rely on the ability to analyse large amounts of data quickly, and data analysis systems are the most important part of this process.
The most exciting thing about this field is how quickly it is changing. AI is changing not only what we can do with data, but also how we design the languages, compilers and systems used to process it. This creates lots of chances to make new tools that make data science better, clearer and easier to use.
At TU Darmstadt, interdisciplinarity is a top priority. Where does your field of work overlap with other disciplines?
My field is, by its very nature, interdisciplinary, as modern data analysis systems lie at the intersection of several areas of computer science and beyond. Academic disciplines such as biology, medicine, climate science and the social sciences are increasingly reliant on the analysis of large volumes of data. This creates a need for subject-specific tools that enable experts in these fields to work effectively with data without always having to understand the full complexity of the underlying systems.
If I were a student today, I would…
Make the most of student life by taking part in activities, experiences and meeting new people that I might not have time for or the energy for later in life. I would also like to talk to my fellow students about different topics, whether academic or not. Some of the best learning experiences come from having conversations and debates and feeling curious about the same things.
We're looking forward to working with you and we wish you all the best for a great start!
The questions were asked by Patrick Bal.
