Team

Management and Administration

Foto von Justus Piater

Prof. Justus Piater, PhD

Head of DiSC & Professor of Computer Science

justus.piater@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-53264

DiSC & Intelligent and Interactive Systems Group at the Department of Computer Science

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-13)

Institut für Informatik, Technikerstraße 21a, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

I seek to enable autonomous robots to perceive and act flexibly and robustly in unstructured environments, leveraging machine learning methods to build perceptual, motor and reasoning skills. Of particular interest is the ability of robots to conceptualize their environment such that they can learn on the basis of already-learned skills, transfer skills to novel tasks, and communicate with humans.

Research Area

Robotics, Embodied AI and Machine Learning

Foto von Adam Jatowt

Prof. Adam Jatowt, PhD

Deputy Head of DiSC & Professor of Data Science

adam.jatowt@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39764

DiSC & Data Science Group at the Department of Computer Science

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-09)

Institut für Informatik, Technikerstraße 21a, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

My research is related to knowledge extraction and information retrieval from unstructured text collections such as news article collections, financial/legal documents or social media posts. In particular, I am interested in novel approaches towards retrieving useful knowledge from long-term news archives and other types of temporal document collections, as well as in applications of text mining techniques for digital history.

Research Area

Natural Language Processing and Information Retrieval Methods

Foto von Joanna Chimiak-Opoka

Dr. Joanna Chimiak-Opoka

Associate Dean of Studies (Minor Digital Science) & Senior Lecturer

joanna.opoka@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39752

Digital Science Center

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-11)

Statement

My goal is to develop an intriguing bundle of courses creating new career opportunities for our students. In line with the DiSC’s mission, I seek to promote the transfer of digitalization-related skills. To do so, I support our interdisciplinary students and instructors in all teaching and learning matters. In particular, I am engaged in finding optimal and innovative solutions and in the continuous development of our teaching portfolio. Moreover, as a senior lecturer and computer scientist, I am involved in teaching our IT-related modules. In my courses, I adapt and experiment with new methods and tools seeking to increase my effectiveness as a lecturer.

Foto von Carina König

Carina König genannt Kersting, M.A. M.Sc.

Coordinator, Chair of the DiSC Advisory Board

carina.koenig@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39751

Digital Science Center

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-14)

Statement

As coordinator of the Digital Science Center, I serve as the primary contact for its members in all administrative matters so they can be fully dedicated to their research. I ensure effective communication between all parties involved to allow for a lively exchange of information and knowledge. That way, I seek to contribute to the DiSC’s overarching goal: the creation of synergies across disciplines. Read more in the university portrait (in German).

Portrait photo of Maija Fedotova

Maija Fedotova

Secretary (Adam Jatowt's group)

maija.fedotova@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39768

Department of Computer Science

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-14)

Statement

As secretary of the DS Group (Data Science Group), I am in charge of all managerial and organizational duties. In addition, I support the administration of DiSC.

Portrait photo of Clemens Weißbacher

Clemens Weißbacher

Systems Administrator

clemens.weissbacher@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-23306

Information Technology Services (ZID)

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-03)

ZID, Technikerstraße 23, A-6020 Innsbruck

Assistant Professors and Senior Scientists

Foto von Sébastien Court

Priv.-Doz. Dr. Sébastien Court

Assistant Professor

sebastien.court@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39756

DiSC & Department of Mathematics

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-11)

Institut für Mathematik, Technikerstraße 13, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

My background are numerical simulations of fluid-structure interactions, elasticity theory, scientific computing, and optimal control theory. At the Digital Science Center, I work on the mathematical foundations of Deep Learning

Research Area

Artificial Neural Networks, Mathematical Optimization, and Dynamical Systems

Foto von Reto Stauffer

Mag. Reto Stauffer, PhD

Assistant Professor

reto.stauffer@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39754

DiSC & Department of Statistics

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-06)

Institut für Statistik, Universitätsstraße 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office O-2.18)

Statement

I am working on the development and refinement of statistical machine-learning methods and their application in the field of natural and atmospheric sciences: spatio-temporal regression methods to enhance climatological estimates or probabilistic decision trees to improve weather forecasts. The development of these new methods is accompanied by implementing open-source software which is able to handle vast and continuously growing amounts of data in today’s digital world. Read more in the university portrait (in German).

Research Area

Data Science in Atmosphere Climate Research

Foto von Clara Rauchegger

Mag. Mag. Dr. Clara Rauchegger, LLM

Assistant Professor

- on maternity leave -

clara.rauchegger@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39758

DiSC & Department of Legal Theory and Future of Law

Personal website

Digital Science Center & Institut für Theorie und Zukunft des Rechts, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-07)

Statement

I examine the opportunities and risks of digital technology from a legal perspective. In particular, my research explores the regulation and governance of digital platforms and artificial intelligence by the European Union. My recent work focuses on EU legislation and policy that is aimed at preventing the spread of illegal or harmful online content such as hate speech, terrorist propaganda, or disinformation. I am particularly interested in the legal implications of AI-assisted filtering of online content. My other research interests include EU and comparative constitutional law, with a particular focus on the protection of fundamental rights in the digital environment.

Research Area

Law and Digital Technology

Foto von Alexander Kupfer

Mag. Alexander Kupfer, PhD

Assistant Professor

alexander.kupfer@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39759

DiSC & Department of Information Systems, Production and Logistics Management

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-03)

Institut für Wirtschaftsinformatik, Produktionswirtschaft und Logistik, Universitätsstraße 15, A-6060 Innsbruck

Statement

My work focuses on information in digital business and digital markets. Online reviews, for instance, help to considerably reduce information asymmetries for consumers (e.g., hotel reviews or amazon reviews). In particular, my research investigates the effects of rewards and design aspects on online review systems. More generally, I am keenly interested in a wide variety of digital business and digital markets phenomena that employ the reduction of (information) asymmetries including crowdfunding and sharing platforms.

Research Area

Digital Business - Information System Design and Economic Behavior

Foto von Joseph Wang

Mag. Dr. Dr. Joseph Wang-Kathrein

Assistant Professor

joseph.wang@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39760

DiSC & Research Institute Brenner-Archiv

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-03)

Brenner-Archiv, Josef-Hirn-Straße 5-7, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

My work field covers the philosophy of Wittgenstein’s and digital editing including related fields in the Digital Humanities. My research focus lies on the interface between philosophy and computer science: How can the insights gathered in philosophy help us in our daily work using computers?

Research Area

Text Modeling, Digital Editing, and Archival Science

Foto von Luis Miguel Rodriguez-Rojas

Dr. Luis Miguel Rodríguez-Rojas

Assistant Professor

Miguel.Rodriguez@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39761

DiSC & Department of Microbiology

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-05)

Institut für Mikrobiologie, Technikerstraße 25, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

My main research interest is the understanding of eco-evolutionary principles governing microbial communities: primary evolutionary and ecological forces shaping populations and their metabolic potential, their interactions with other microbial species, their hosts and the environment, and the role of stochasticity. I develop computational and statistical techniques aimed at answering these questions as well as advancing standards and data quality evaluation methods in the field of environmental genomics. Read more in the university portrait (in German).

Research Area

Microbial Ecology, Environmental Genomics, and Bioinformatics

Porträtfoto von Matthias Schurz

Mag. Dr. Matthias Schurz

Assistant Professor

Matthias.Schurz@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39762

DiSC & Department of Psychology

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-04)

Institut für Psychologie, Universitätsstraße 5-7, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 3S12)

Statement

Humans are a highly social species, and complex societies rely on mutual understanding, cooperation, and trust. In my work, I am studying how central social abilities are implemented in the human brain. In particular, I would like to understand how we can represent another's perspective while at the same time keeping track of reality. Comparative work from other species as well as patient studies show us that this high-level skill is not easy for the brain. Presumably, it requires the interplay of several large-scale networks. To deepen our understanding of these mechanisms, I study functional brain activity and connectivity with statistical and machine learning methods.

Research Area

Computational Neuroscience, Brain Networks, and Human Cognition

Porträtfoto von Gabriel Rojas-Kopeinig

Mag. Dr. Gabriel Rojas-Kopeinig

Assistant Professor

gabriel.rojas@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39766

DiSC & Unit of Energy Efficient Building at the Department of Structural Engineering and Material Sciences

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-04)

AB Energieeffizientes Bauen, Technikerstraße 13, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

My academic work centers on energy-efficient construction. Specifically, I explore how we can design buildings in such a way that they provide a comfortable and healthy indoor climate while conserving energy and resources. To answer this question, I use both experimental and computational simulation methods, such as building performance and air flow simulations. My research focuses on indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and energy efficiency. In addition, I also seek to improve the aforementioned simulation methods by combining and enhancing them with data-driven methods, for example data-driven modeling or model calibration.

Research Area

Digital Methods in Indoor Environment and Building Energy Research

Porträtfoto von Francesca Finotello

Francesca Finotello, PhD

Assistant Professor

francesca.finotello@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39757

DiSC & Computational Biomedicine Group at the Department of Molecular Biology

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-05)

Institut für Molekularbiologie, Technikerstraße 25, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

My research focuses on the bioinformatic analysis of bulk and single-cell multiomics data and on the development of new computational methods to inform precision and personalized medicine. I have a special focus on cancer immunology: I integrate bioinformatics, systems biology, and machine learning techniques to shed light on the rules governing tumor-immune cell interactions. By characterizing the landscape of cancer neoantigens, the composition of the tumor immune contexture, and the intricate crosstalk governing cell-cell interactions in the tumor microenvironment, I aim at extracting mechanistic rationale to improve cancer immunotherapy.

Research Area

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Portraitfoto von Samuele Tosatto

Dr.-Ing. Samuele Tosatto

Assistant Professor

samuele.tosatto@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39753

DiSC & Intelligent and Interactive Systems Group at the Department of Computer Science

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-03)

Institut für Informatik, Technikerstraße 21a, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

How can we enable embodied agents, like robots, with the ability to understand, learn, and interact with their physical surroundings?

My research is a crossover between machine learning and robotics. In particular, I focus on enhancing reinforcement learning efficiency and developing state and action abstractions that naturally cope with physical quantities like velocities and forces. 

Research Area

Embodied Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Portrait photo of Hauke Licht

Dr. Hauke Licht

Postdoc

hauke.licht@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-70134

DiSC & Department of Political Science

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-11)

Institut für Politikwissenschaft, Universitätsstraße 15, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

The goal of my research is to understand how and why governments, parties, and politicians employ various rhetorical strategies, whether during election campaigns to win voter support, when debating bills in parliament, or negotiating on the international stage. To achieve this, I combine classical approaches of comparative political analysis with methods from machine learning and computational linguistics. This allows me to measure and analyze the communication behavior of political actors in large text datasets.
My methodological focus is on the application, evaluation, and further development of techniques for computer-based measurement of communication phenomena in text data, for example, using large language models and related methods. In addition to my research, an important part of my work is to impart this knowledge to students and early-career researchers. By doing so, I aim to enhance their competencies in dealing with politics and artificial intelligence in the digital age.

Research Area

Computational Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Communication, Natural Language Processing

Foto von Gerald Hiebel

Dr. Gerald Hiebel

Senior Scientist

gerald.hiebel@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39755

DiSC & Department of Archaeologies

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-05)

Institut für Archäologien, Langer Weg 11, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

My work focuses on research on methodologies that can be used to represent the complex knowledge arising from a (pre-)historic reality and the scientific research about this reality. They are from the fields of ontology engineering (in particular CIDOC CRM), knowledge graph creation, geoinformation systems, and computational linguistics (Named Entity Recognition, Named Entity Linking). While my main work field is archaeology, I also apply these methodologies in several projects from various fields of the Digital Humanities. My goal is to create e-infrastructures that can be used for research and the dissemination of knowledge about our past and how it was gained.

Research Area

Semantic and Space-Oriented Information Technology in Archaeology

PhD Students

Portrait photo of Bhawna Piryani

Bhawna Piryani

PhD Student (Adam Jatowt's group)

bhawna.piryani@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-53484

Data Science Group at the Department of Computer Science

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-10)

Statement

My research focuses on Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Open-domain Question Answering (QA). I am working on building QA systems that focus on the temporal aspects of the text. Prior to joining the Data Science Group, I was working on Sentiment Analysis and developing resources for Scarce Resource Languages (SRLs) such as Nepali.

Research Area

Natural Language Processing (NLP), Information Retrieval (IR), and Question Answering (QA)

Portrait photo of Abdelrahman Abdallah

Abdelrahman Elsayed Mahmoud Abdallah

PhD Student (Adam Jatowt's group)

abdelrahman.abdallah@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-53487

Data Science Group at the Department of Computer Science

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-10)

Statement

I am deeply engaged in pioneering research at the forefront of computer vision, natural language processing (NLP), and information retrieval (IR). My primary dedication lies in the realm of extracting knowledge and information from unstructured text collections across diverse domains, including news articles, financial and legal documents, and social media posts. Through the skillful application of advanced techniques in computer vision, NLP, and IR, my goal is to unveil invaluable insights, foster a profound comprehension of unstructured data, and revolutionize its analysis.

Research Area

Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Information Retrieval (IR) Methods

Portrait photo of Jamshid Mozafari

Jamshid Mozafari

PhD Student (Adam Jatowt's group)

jamshid.mozafari@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-53493

Data Science Group at the Department of Computer Science

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-10)

Statement

My research focuses on natural language processing and information retrieval, especially Open-Domain Question Answering systems. In this regard, I have published some papers related to question answering for the Persian and English language. Prior to joining the Data Science Group at the University of Innsbruck, I received BSc and MSc degrees in Computer Science from the University of Kurdistan and the University of Isfahan in 2016 and 2019 under the supervision of Dr. Parham Moradi and Prof. Mohammad Ali Nematbakhsh, respectively.

Research Area

Natural Language Processing and Information Retrieval

Statement

After studying Environmental Engineering, I developed an interest in research and working on exciting new ideas in the field of energy efficient buildings. My research interests include the collection and analysis of indoor air quality data and the simulation of different ventilation strategies.

Research Area

Ventilation, Indoor Air Quality and Building Energy

Portrait photo of Nathan Ernster

Nathan Ernster, MSc

PhD Student (Miguel Rodríguez-Rojas's group)

nathan.ernster@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-51344

Department of Microbiology

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-05)

Institut für Mikrobiologie, Technikerstraße 25, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

My interdisciplinary background began in chemistry and hydrology, before shifting into molecular microbiology and genomics during my MSc. As a PhD student in Prof. Rodriguez-Rojas' group, I'm investigating microorganisms found in extreme environments to understand how these conditions drive community dynamics, and to identify molecular adaptations which have evolved at the limits of habitability.

Research Area

Environmental Genomics and Molecular Evolution

Portrait photo of Edoardo Mandolini

Edoardo Mandolini, MSc

PhD Student (Miguel Rodríguez-Rojas's group)

edoardo.mandolini@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-51244

Department of Microbiology

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-04)

Institut für Mikrobiologie, Technikerstraße 25, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

How does barren ground in a glacier forefield become a fully functional ecosystem in less than 200 years? Thanks to microorganisms and the cumulative effects of their cell-to-cell interactions. I research how microbial interactions mark the difference in early developmental stages of ecosystems. Why should we care? Because Alpine glacial systems are rapidly disappearing and they represent unique and ideal frameworks to research how community assembly processes work: a concept that remains largely theoretical at today’s state of the art.

Research Area

Microbial Ecology, Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics

Portrait photo of Irene Rigato

Irene Rigato, MSc

PhD Student (Francesca Finotello's group)

irene.rigato@uibk.ac.at

Department of Molecular Biology

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-05)

Institut für Molekularbiologie, Technikerstraße 25, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

I work in the field of cancer immunology as a bioinformatician. My focus is on the development of a new computational framework to integrate multi-omics data to investigate malignant-cell transformation and ultimately identify new targets for cancer prevention and therapy.

Research Area

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Portrait photo of Markus Außerhofer

Markus Ausserhofer, BSc MSc

PhD Student (Francesca Finotello's group)

Markus.Ausserhofer@student.uibk.ac.at

Department of Molecular Biology

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-04)

Institut für Molekularbiologie, Technikerstraße 25, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

I studied the master’s program in Molecular Biology at the University of Innsbruck and decided to specialize in the field of bioinformatics during my master’s thesis.
My research as a PhD student revolves around the development of bioinformatics tools that allow for the prediction of new immunotherapy targets in cancer.

Research Area

Bioinformatics and Cancer Immunotherapy

Portrait photo of Lorenzo Merotto

Lorenzo Merotto, MSc

PhD Student (Francesca Finotello' group)

lorenzo.merotto@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-51482

Department of Molecular Biology

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-04)

Institut für Molekularbiologie, Technikerstraße 25, A-6020 Innsbruck

Statement

As a bioinformatician, I am responsible for the processing and analysis of high dimensional genomics data, in close collaboration with biology scientists. The focus of my PhD is the integration of multimodal, single-cell data to investigate the mechanisms regulating cell plasticity and the success of cell reprogramming techniques.

Research Area

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Student Assistants

Portrait photo of Lena Lagger

Lena Lagger

Student Assistant (Project ArtiPro)

lena.lagger@uibk.ac.at

+43 512 507-39763

Department of Legal Theory and Future of Law & Department of Psychology

Digital Science Center & Institut für Theorie und Zukunft des Rechts, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-06)

Statement

I study law and political science, am a student project assistant of Clara Rauchegger’s and work with her on the ArtiPro project. Our focus is on the data protection aspect of ArtiPro and the use of AI in the management of health data.

Research Area

Data Protection and Artificial Intelligence in Health Care

Portrait photo of Constantin Zackl

Constantin Zackl, BSc

Student Assistant (Francesca Finotello's group)

constantin.zackl@student.uibk.ac.at

Department of Molecular Biology

Personal website

Digital Science Center, Innrain 15, A-6020 Innsbruck (office 01-03)

Statement

My academic background is in bioinformatics with a focus on transcriptomic data analysis. I develop novel computational tools to analyze omics data to decipher the underlying biological mechanisms. I am currently studying Software Engineering in a Master's program at the University of Innsbruck with the aim of using my expertise to build advanced software systems for the life sciences, in particular to improve data analysis and interpretation.

Research Area

Bioinformatics and Software Engineering

Nach oben scrollen