Hasso-Plattner-Institut25 Jahre HPI
Hasso-Plattner-Institut25 Jahre HPI
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28.06.2019

News

HPI Graduates Receive Dissertation and Graduate Award of the University of Potsdam 2019

On 27 July, the University of Potsdam (UP) said farewell to its graduates and honored two Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) alumni at the graduation ceremony. The former HPI doctoral student Pedro Lopes received the 2,500 Euro prize from the Universitätsgesellschaft Potsdamfor the best doctoral thesis. The highest honor for a university graduate was bestowed on Stephan Haarmann, who was recognized for his master's thesis and outstanding academic achievements.

Günther and Jakobs present prize to Lopes
At the 2019 graduation ceremony 2019 of the University of Potsdam, President PhD. Oliver Günther (l.) and Jann Jakobs (r.), former Lord Mayor of the City of Potsdam presented the prize for the best doctorate of the University of Potsdam 2018 to Pedro Lopes (m.) (Photo: UP/Ernst Kaczynski)

The laureates 2019

Dr. Pedro Lopes

Dr. Pedro Lopes received his PhD at Hasso Plattner Institute in 2018. His doctoral thesis researched interactive systems in the area of electrical muscle stimulation. Lopes developed interactive devices that are connected to the body with sensors and actuators for electrical muscle stimulation. These enable a new kind of communication between humans and computers. They pose the questions: What if interfaces were part of our body, and, how can we construct future devices that establish a more personal and direct connection to our body? Lopes was mentored by Prof. Patrick Baudisch, head of the Human Computer Interaction research group at HPI. Shortly after completing his doctorate, Lopes was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago, where he heads the Human Computer Integration Lab.

Baudisch, Jakobs and Lopes at the graduation ceremony 2019
Doctoral thesis mentor Prof. Dr. Patrick Baudisch, Jann Jakobs and Dr. Pedro Lopes (from left to right) at the graduation ceremony of the University of Potsdam graduation ceremony 2019 (Photo: UP/Ernst Kaczynski)

Stephan Haarmann

"Computer science gets exciting for me when it solves real problems."

With this conviction in mind, Stephan Haarmann began his bachelor's degree in IT Systems Engineering at HPI. Through his bachelor project in the HPI research group Business Process Technology, he had already developed tools for modeling flexible business processes at Bosch. In his master's degree at HPI, Haarmann also devoted himself to the optimization of business processes in companies and submitted his first scientific publications. His master thesis dealt with the topic of decision-aware compliance checking. Haarmann’s work has been deemed as groundbreaking by the University of Potsdam from a theoretical, empirical and methodological point of view. After his outstanding master's degree, he now has a position as a PhD student at HPI's Business Process Technology department, and we are curious to see what prizes follow!

Musil and Haarmann at the 2019 UP graduation ceremony
Vice President Prof. Dr. Andreas Musil presenteds t he 2019 Graduate Award to HPI graduate Stephan Haarmann. (Photo: UP/Tobias Hopfgarten)

HPI extends its warmest congratulations to Pedro Lopes and Stephan Haarmann!