Team
WWU Münster
Chris is a professor in Geoinformatics at the Institute for Geoinformatics, University of Münster, Germany. His work focusses on human interaction with spatiotemporal information and key phenomena pertaining to this interaction. Location-based services and location privacy are two key areas of interest that Chris has been actively researching for many years, for example, through the EU-funded ITN GEO-C. Chris holds a PhD in computer science from Saarland University, Germany, and has worked in the UK for quite some time (Lancaster University, Newcastle University).
Sven is a PhD student at the Institute for Geoinformatics, University of Münster. His research focuses on developing tools for educating users on location privacy as well as the risks and benefits associated with sharing location information. He holds a MSc in Geoinformatics and has worked in industry as a software developer for mobile application and robotics projects for four years.
Simge pursued her career on technology based solutions in collective creation and sustainable urban development. She took part in several projects related to urban design, sustainability, and GIS. Currently, she is part of the SIMPORT project as a member of University of Munster, Institute for Geoinformation and continues to explore new ways of supporting open, and digitally sovereign communities.
University Osnabrück
Rainer Mühlhoff is a professor of Ethics of Artificial Intelligence at the Institute of Cognitive Science at the University of Osnabrück. His research focuses on data ethics, ethics of artificial intelligence and data protection in the context of Big Data. He is a philosopher, mathematician and computer scientist by training.
Gert is a postdoc in Science and Technology Studies at the Institute of Cognitive Science (University of Osnabrück) as well as at the Centre for Sustainable Development (Ghent University). Originally trained as a nuclear physicist (PhD 2001), he sees himself as an interdisciplinary scientist who consciously operates at the intersection between fundamental research on the one hand and a normative engagement with sustainability and social justice on the other. Over the years, he has elaborated on the political nature of science and technology in various research domains such as climate policy, sustainability transitions, and more recently responsible research and innovation and ethics of AI.
Corinna Balkow is a research assistant at the University of Osnabrück. She graduated in Philosophy and Digital Media at the University of Bremen and worked as software usability tester, international quality manager and digital society expert. Her research focuses on digital society, monitoring algorithmic systems and the Ethics in AI.
Per is studying philosophy and computer science at the FU Berlin, focusing on politics, technology and society. While being a student, Per has worked for politicians and the German government.
re:edu
Thomas is a research assistant (post-doc) at the Institute for Geoinformatics at WWU Münster and is the founder and CEO of the start-up re:edu. He studied geoinformatics and did his doctorate in the same subject on the topic of "Spatial learning with (geo)technologies". Thomas leads the BMBF-funded project "senseBox Pro" and has been involved in numerous projects around Citizen Science and Digital Education. At re:edu, he helps research and development work at the intersection of digital education, citizen science, HCI and geoinformatics to grow into products.
Felix completed his studies at the Institute of Geoinformatics at WWU Münster and works, among other things, on mobile apps with location reference and on an open platform for environmental data. In the SIMPORT project, he is in charge of the website and supports the developers of a prototypical app.
Gina completed her Bachelor's and Master's degree in Communication Studies at the WWU Münster and works in the Public Relations/Communications department at re:edu, a spin-off of the Institute for Geoinformatics at the University of Münster. She is responsible for the website and social media in the SIMPORT project.
Matthias completed his studies at the Institute of Geoinformatics at WWU Münster and works, among other things, on an open platform for environmental data. In the SIMPORT project, he supports the development of the open source software components and integration in existing apps.
Artur Kim is graduated in Urban Planning at the University of São Paulo and a post-graduated in Innovation Management at Amani Institute. Currently, he is studying in the Master Design and Computation at the Technical University and the University of the Arts in Berlin. At re:edu, he works as innovation designer responsible for the development of diagrams and data visualization.
Former members (until 30.06.2023):
HERE
Aleksandra is leading privacy-by-design engineering efforts at HERE Technologies. After a decade of experience in applied research and product management in the area of Big Data analytics, fascinated by the conflicting needs to preserve the data value while protecting privacy, she initiated a project on anonymization of location data and estimating the remaining privacy risk. As means for balancing data utility and privacy risk go way beyond anonymization, she broadened her scope to privacy- and ethics-by-design. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science (specifically peer-to-peer technologies), published over 30 peer-reviewed scientific publications and numerous patents. Her focus in SIMPORT project is estimating the location privacy risk.
Stefano’s work as Privacy Engineer focuses on helping product and development teams creating valuable products that respect the privacy of data subjects, for example by defining appropriate anonymization strategies and privacy-enhancing technologies. To reach this goal, Stefano is also researching new ways of measuring privacy risks related to location data. Stefano holds a PhD in privacy-enhancing technologies and a MSc in Computer Science.
Johannes is working with the privacy-by-design team at HERE Technologies to estimate privacy risk and evaluate anonymization strategies for personal location information. In the past, he worked as a spatial data scientist on German and international research projects investigating the socioeconomic impacts of natural disasters. Johannes holds a BSc in Economics from University of Mannheim, a MSc in Environmental Economics and Climate Change from the London School of Economics and is currently studying Computer Science at TU Berlin.
FH Münster
Gernot is a computer science professor at FH Münster University of Applied Sciences with a focus on software engineering and human-computer interaction. His interest in using digital media and applications to reflect on societal challenges and to contribute to their solution led to founding the "Institut für Gesellschaft und Digitales" (GUD) at FH Münster. With Naviki, an internationally popular bicycle route planner has emerged in his group, meanwhile being further developed by beemo GmbH, a spin-off from FH Münster. Gernot holds a diploma in physics (University of Cologne) and a PhD in mathematics (LMU Munich).
Jerome completed his studies of computer science at the University of Applied Sciences in Münster. For several years he has been working as a software developer in the laboratory for software engineering. In the context of various projects, he is mainly concerned with applications that have a focus on human-technology interaction and mobility and are associated with social relevance.
University Osnabrück
Corinna Balkow is a research assistant at the University of Osnabrück. She graduated in Philosophy and Digital Media at the University of Bremen and worked as software usability tester, international quality manager and digital society expert. Her research focuses on digital society, monitoring algorithmic systems and the Ethics in AI.