One of the key tasks as a professor is to advise and collaborate with the scientists in my team. So far, 16 team members have successfully completed the doctorate under my supervision — either the doctor of technical sciences (Dr. techn.), which is the common degree in Austria in my field, or a PhD. In addition, I worked with four postdocs in the past, all of whom have gone on to successful careers.
Doctoral Graduates
Helmut Adam studied telematics at TU Graz and was an application engineer at Infineon Technologies before joining my team at the University of Klagenfurt as a research and teaching staff member in 2006. In a project with Orange Labs, he designed protocols for cooperative wireless relying, leading to his dissertation Cooperative diversity in wireless networks: Relay selection and medium access, for which he received the doctoral degree in technical sciences in 2011. He then worked for three years as a senior software engineer at Easyplex Software in Klagenfurt. In 2014, he moved to SSI Schaefer in Graz, where he leads a team in the software development department.
Torsten Andre received a Dipl.-Ing. degree in computer engineering from RWTH Aachen University before he became a research and teaching staff member in my team at the University of Klagenfurt in 2010. He worked on mobile robotics and communication protocols and taught on mobile communications, sensor networks, and robot programming. In 2015, he received the Dr. techn. degree for his dissertation “Autonomous exploration by robot teams: Coordination, communication, and collaboration.” Torsten is now a project manager at Infineon Technologies Austria (Villach) and teaches at FH Kärnten.
Mahin K. Atiq was a scientific staff member in my team at the University of Klagenfurt from 2014 until 2019, where she performed research and teaching on wireless networks and communication protocols. She received her doctoral degree in technical sciences for her dissertation “Interference dynamics in wireless networks” in 2021. She is now a researcher at Silicon Austria Labs. Mahin also holds a master degree in information and communication engineering from Sejong University in Seoul.
Agata Barciś studied control engineering and robotics at Wrocław University of Technology and gained experience as embedded software developer before she joined the Karl Popper Kolleg on networked autonomous aerial vehicles at the University of Klagenfurt in 2017. Her research under my supervision was on synchronization and swarming in multi-robot systems. She obtained her doctoral degree in technical sciences for her dissertation “Synchronizing and swarming robots: Spatio-temporal coordination in multi-robot systems” in 2021. She is now a senior researcher at the Technology Innovation Institute in Abu Dhabi.
Günther Brandner studied computer science and technical mathematics at the University of Klagenfurt before he became a researcher in my team in 2008, where he worked on cooperative relaying and distributed synchronization in wireless networks. His research emphasis was on the experimental evaluation on programmable radio platforms, which led to his dissertation “Experimental evaluation of firefly synchronization and cooperative relaying in wireless networks“, for which he received the doctoral degree in technical sciences in 2015. He then joined the energy utility company KELAG-Kärntner Elektrizitäts-Aktiengesellschaft, where he is a senior business architect. He also holds a doctoral degree in mathematics.
Sérgio Crisóstomo (2012)
Information dissemination in random networks
Is now Assistant Professor at Universidade do Porto
Alexander Gogolev received a master degree in automation engineering and computer science from the Petrozavodsk State University, Russia. In 2011, he enrolled to the European doctoral program “Interactive and Cognitive Environments (ICE)” at the Universities of Klagenfurt and Genoa, working on decentralized consensus in networked systems. He completed his PhD thesis “Randomized binary majority consensus” in 2014. Alexander then worked on industrial connectivity and automation in various roles at TTTech Computertechnik (Vienna) and ABB Corporate Research (Ladenburg). Since 2021, he has been a lead researcher in the Applied Network Technology Lab at the Huawei Research Center in Munich.
Samira Hayat joined my team at the University of Klagenfurt with a master degree in telecommunications from the University of Trento. She focused on wireless networking and path planning in multidrone systems and developed interest in the ethical and social implications of drones. During her PhD time, she spent a semester as a guest researcher at Carnegie Mellon University. Samira received her doctoral degree in technical sciences from the University of Klagenfurt in 2021 for her dissertation “Drone networks for search and rescue”. After graduation, she worked on various projects at the University of Klagenfurt and Lakeside Labs. She is now a senior researcher at Lakeside Labs and startup founder. She is among the “2022 Rising stars in networking and communications” of N2 Women.
Pasquale Grippa joined my team with a master degree in electronics engineering from the University of Salerno. During his employment as a research and teaching staff member at the University of Klagenfurt, he developed multidisciplinary interests in the analysis of networked, stochastic, and self-organizing systems and worked on drone-based delivery and autonomous cable car systems. His doctoral degree in technical sciences was awarded by the University of Klagenfurt in 2021 for his dissertation “Job assignment, access control and dimensioning in autonomous transportation systems”. Pasquale is currently a senior researcher at Lakeside Labs in the field of autonomous multi-robot systems.
Johannes Klinglmayr joined my team with a Dipl.-Ing. in technical mathematics from TU Wien and a MA in applied maths from the University of Michigan. During his time as a researcher and doctoral student, he worked on principles of self-organization and their application in wireless networks. He collaborated with the Max-Planck Institute on Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen. Johannes received his Dr. techn. degree for his dissertation “Self-organizing network synchronization: Convergence and robustness in pulse-coupled oscillator systems” in 2013. He is now with the Linz Center of Mechatronics in strategy and business development, where he focuses on complexity reduction and knowledge reuse via knowledge engines.
Nikolaj Marchenko joined my team in 2008 after his diploma graduation in computer engineering at RWTH Aachen University. He doctoral research focused on wireless relaying, cooperative communications, and industrial sensor networks. In 2011, he was a visiting scholar at GeorgiaTech. In 2013, Nikolaj received his Dr. techn. degree for the dissertation “Resource‑efficient relay selection in cooperative wireless networks“. He then joined Robert Bosch in Renningen (Stuttgart area, where he has been working on wireless networking, edge computing, and machine learning for factory automation.
Wasif Masood joined my team at the University of Klagenfurt in 2012 after finishing his masters in software systems engineering from RWTH Aachen University. He has been working on relaying and time synchronization in wireless networks, receiving the Dr. techn. degree in 2017 for his dissertation “Evaluation of time synchronization in real deployments of wireless sensor networks.” After graduation, Wasif became a data scientist at Magenta Telekom (T-Mobile Austria) in Vienna. Since 2019, he has been leading the data science unit, being responsible for the adoption of AI in the organization, including collaborations with universities.
Raheeb Muzaffar received an MS in information technology from NUST Pakistan and gained work experience as a network and test engineer, before he joined the Erasmus-Mundus joint doctoral program “Interactive and Cognitive Environments (ICE)” at the University of Klagenfurt and Queen Mary University of London. In 2016, he received his PhD for the dissertation “Routing and video streaming in drone networks“. After graduation, he joined Lakeside Labs as a researcher, working in projects at the intersection of 5G/Wi-Fi and unmanned aerial vehicles (2016–2020). Raheeb is now a scientist at Silicon Austria Labs in Linz in the area of wireless communications.
Udo Schilcher studied applied informatics and mathematics before he joined my team as a research and teaching staff member in 2005. He received the doctoral degree in technical sciences from the University of Klagenfurt in 2011 with his dissertation “Inhomogeneous node distributions and interference in wireless networks“. Udo then held senior positions at the Institute of Networked and Embedded Systems and at Lakeside Labs. His main expertise is in wireless networks, stochastic geometry, and self-organization. He is now a senior staff member at our institute, where he teaches courses in stochastic networks and programming in C and Mathematica.
Micha Sende received a master degree in computer engineering from RWTH Aachen University and a doctoral degree in technical sciences from the University of Klagenfurt for his dissertation “Energy-aware exploration with autonomous robot teams” (2021). He was a research and teaching staff member in my team at the University of Klagenfurt (2012–2017). Since 2017, he has been a researcher at Lakeside Labs. His expertise is in mobile robotics, wireless networking, cyber-physical systems, and swarm algorithms.
Alexander Tyrrell received an MEE in telecommunications and signal processing from ESIEE Paris and a master of research in communication systems from UPMC Paris 6 and ENST Paris in 2005. He received the doctoral degree in technical sciences from the University of Klagenfurt in 2009 with his dissertation “Firefly synchronization in wireless networks.” After working as a researcher in the wireless group at DOCOMO Euro-Labs in Munich, he joined Rohde & Schwarz, where became a protocol stack developer for 4G and 5G mobile testers (2011–2018). Since 2018, Alexander has been working in the area of advanced driver-assistance systems at BMW (Munich area).
Senior Researchers and PostDocs
Alessandro Crismani (2013)
Joined as PhD in Telecommunications Engineering from University of Trieste
Is now Test and Measurement Engineer at u-blox AG
Wilfried Elmenreich (2007 – 2013)
Joined as Dr. techn. from TU Wien
Is now Professor for Smart Grids at University of Klagenfurt
Vladimir Vukadinovic (2014 – 2015)
Joined as Dr. in Telecommunication from KTH Stockholm
Is now with Nokia
Evşen Yanmaz (2008 – 2014)
Joined as PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University
Is now Assistant Professor at Özyeğin University