Hightech Agenda Professors
As part of the Free State of Bavaria’s Hightech Agenda, the University of Augsburg has already been able to make appointments for nearly half of 33 new professorships. (This website is continually updated.)
Prof. Dr Maria Backhouse
Prof. Dr Maria Backhouse conducts research on global socio-ecological inequalities, the socio-ecological transformation, conflicts in the context of the climate crisis, renewable energies, and climate adaptation at the Centre for Climate Resilience. She focuses on topics in Western Europe, South America, and in particular in Brazil. She previously held the position of junior professor of global inequalities and socio-ecological change at the Institute of Sociology at Friedrich Schiller University Jena.
Prof. Dr Janina Bahnemann
Prof. Dr Janina Bahnemann conducts research on cell culture and microsystems technology, as well as the development of “lab-on-a-chip-based” biosensors at the Institute of Physics. Using modern, high-resolution 3D printers, her research group is developing microfluidic systems used in cell culture technology. The working group is also involved in the development of new analytical methods for the online monitoring of biological processes.
Prof. Dr Benedikt Buchner
Prof. Dr Benedikt Buchner’s research focus lies in the areas of civil law, health and medical law, and data protection law. As a lawyer, he contributes his legal expertise to the development of solutions to the challenges of the digital age. Through this research professorship, he is contributing to the development of the university’s research focus on digital health research and artificial intelligence.
Prof. Dr Sina Fontana
Prof. Dr Sina Fontana holds the Chair of Public Law and Crisis Resilience. She conducts research in public law in its international and comparative dimensions, with a special focus on environmental and climate protection law, migration and integration law, including perspectives on equality and diversity.
Prof. Dr Anja Göritz
Prof. Dr Anja Göritz holds the Chair of Behavioural Health Technology, which conducts research on the use of modern computer technology to record and improve health and well-being. Her research focuses on the effects of internet- and mobile-based interventions on health-related behaviour. She previously held positions as professor of work and organisational psychology at the University of Würzburg and as professor of business psychology at the University of Freiburg.
Prof. Dr Markus Keck
Prof. Dr Markus Keck holds the Chair of Urban Climate Resilience. Following positions at the University of Göttingen and Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, he held a temporary professorship at the Department of Geography at the University of Bonn. His research concentrates on questions such as how social change shapes the natural environment and how global climate and environmental change shapes societies. He aims to examine currently discussed proposals for solving the challenges of a human-dominated era as well as develop possible alternatives.
Prof. Dr Jakob Kottmann
Prof. Dr Jakob Kottmann’s research is interdisciplinary and located at the interface between computer science, physics, and chemistry. His research concentrates on the development of hybrid algorithms, that is, algorithms that are partly performed on quantum computers and partly on classical computers. Such algorithms are used to calculate the properties of chemical substances, for example. As part of his research, Kottmann develops software to test and exchange algorithmic ideas, as for example with an abstraction system for variational quantum algorithms.
Prof. Dr Martin Kronbichler
Prof. Dr Martin Kronbichler researches and teaches at the Institute of Mathematics. His research is interdisciplinary and combines the mathematics of numerical methods for the simulation of complicated physical facts with a strong application orientation, as well as elements of computer science, to improve the efficient use of modern computers. He works on especially efficient software implementations of numerical methods, as well as on simulations of flows in aero and fluid dynamics and biomedicine.
Prof. Dr Nils Meyer
Prof. Dr -Ing. Nils Meyer works on algorithm-based product development at the Institute for Materials Resource Management (MRM). His research focus lies in the structural optimisation of components, the development of virtual process chains for the digital mapping of a component’s life, and the integration of sustainability goals into optimisation. In future, he will be involved in teaching in the degree programme Materials Science and Engineering on the topics of digital materials and sustainability, as well as in other degree programmes with a focus on digitalisation.
Prof. Dr Angela Oels
The internationally renowned climate researcher Prof. Dr Angela Oels works at the Centre for Climate Resilience. From a democratic theory perspective, she researches how stakeholder participation processes in climate adaptation can be designed to trigger social change, thus contributing to desirable climate futures. In the context of the concept of smart cities, she is also investigating the role of digitalisation in the adaptation to climate impacts. In addition, she critically accompanies debates about “climate refugees” in the context of international climate negotiations.
Prof. Dr Jan-Frederik Pietschmann
Within the context of the Hightech Agenda, the new Chair of Inverse Problems has been created in association with the Centre for Advanced Analytics and Predictive Sciences (CAAPS). The focus of Prof. Dr Pietschmann’s new chair is inverse problems, namely mathematical problems in which unknown parameters are determined by measurements or data, a classic example of which is computerised tomography. The team will also conduct research on nonlinear partial differential equations.
Prof. Dr Sebastian Scherr
Prof. Dr Sebastian Scherr holds the new Chair for Digital Health Communication at the Institute for Media, Knowledge, and Communication at the University of Augsburg. The research focus of the new chair is digital health communication (e.g., wearables, smart medical devices, artificial intelligence, automation), as well as individual and structural factors influencing the impact of the media on the health sector, especially in the areas of mental health, well-being, and suicide prevention. These topics will also be covered in his teaching.
Prof. Dr Sebastian Schiffels
Prof. Dr Sebastian Schiffels is working on the topics of decision-making behaviour and digitalisation in the health sector at the Faculty of Business and Economics. The methodological basis of his work is the use of empirical data from field and laboratory experiments. In general, his research and teaching focuses on (behavioural) operations management and (healthcare) analytics. Schiffels is a member of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Health Research (ZIG) at the University of Augsburg.
