About Me
I am a professor at the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB), where I lead the Digital Sovereignty Lab – in short: DigiSoul. We investigate digital sovereignty, the capacity of individuals (e.g., end-users or developers), institutions (e.g., universities or companies) or states (e.g., administrations or governments) for informational self-determination.
Since 2022, I am a principal investigator (PI) in the DFG-funded Cluster of Excellence CASA “Securing the Digital Society”, which currently is in its second funding phase. Furthermore, I am a member of the Council for Ethics and Responsibility of the University Alliance Ruhr, and the University Commission for Diversity.
Before joining RUB, I was a junior professor at the Leibniz University in Hannover at the chair Human-Centered Security of Prof. Sascha Fahl and a postdoctoral researcher in GIST research section at the University of Glasgow, UK. Since 2020, I hold a PhD in Computer Science from the Technical University of Darmstadt.
Check out the CASA stories video about my lab, the Nackgehackt podcast on online voting or digital sovereignty.
Selected Recent Activities
General / Program / Vice / Poster Chair- Paper & Technical Program Chair at MUM 2026
- Poster Chair at SOUPS 2026
- Vice Chair at Usenix Security 2027
- General Chair at AHs ’23 & ’24
- Workshop Chair at MuC 2023
- PC Member of CHI 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027
- PC Member of SOUPS 2024, 2025, 2026
- PC Member of Usenix Security 2025, 2026
- PC Member of PETS 2026, 2027
- PC Member of CCS 2025, 2026
- PC Member of MUM 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Awards & Recognition
- Honourable Mention Award at CHI 2025 & 2026
- Distinguished Reviewer Award at Usenix Security 2025
- Best Reviewer Award at ICALT 2023
- Honourable Mention Award at MUM 2021
- Honourable Mention Award at MuC 2021
