Current Fellows 2025

Prof. Dr. Jan Plass

Degree: PhD Educational Technology | Program: Dresden Senior Fellowship | Timeframe: 25. - 27. September 2024, 12. - 14. March 2025, 9. - 18. April 2025, 2. – 4. June 2025, 7. - 11. July 2025 | Host Institution in Germany: Faculty of Psychology, Chair of Psychology of Learning and Instruction| Host: Prof. Dr. Susanne Narciss

Prof. Dr. Jan Plass holds the Paulette Goddard Chair in Digital Media and Learning Sciences at New York University and is the founding director of CREATE, the Consortium for Research and Evaluation of Advanced Technologies in Education at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. He received his PhD in Educational Technology from the University of Erfurt in 1994.

The fellowship stay of Prof. Plass serves the joint research on the development of advanced learning technologies. During his stay, Prof. Plass, Prof. Narciss and members of the Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI) will work on immersive formative feedback strategies for augmented reality and virtual reality learning environments, among other things. In addition, Prof. Plass, together with Prof. Köhler from the Center for Open Digital Innovation and Participation (CODIP), will analyze the benefits and conditions of learning scenarios with modern learning technologies. The overarching goal of Prof. Plass' visits is to establish research collaborations with Prof. Narciss and Prof. Köhler in the areas of design and research of innovative advanced learning technologies. These research collaborations will be the first steps towards establishing an institutional partnership between TU Dresden and New York City University in the field of innovative learning sciences. In addition, Prof. Plass will be involved in teaching at the postgraduate level.

Prof. Plass draws on a broad range of disciplines, including cognitive science, learning science, computer science, and design, to conceptualize, implement, and investigate new and more effective ways of learning with digital technologies. He is the author of over 120 journal articles, chapters, and conference proceedings, has given more than 200 presentations, and is the lead editor of Cognitive Load Theory and the Handbook of Game-based Learning.

Dr. Ali Sanati

Degree: PhD Reservoir Engineering | Program: Dresden Junior Fellowship | Timeframe: August 28, 2024 – October 30, 2024 & June 25, 2025 – August 25, 2025 | Host Institution in Germany: Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry, Chair of Inorganic Molecular Chemistry | Host: Prof. Dr. Jan J. Weigand

Dr. Ali Sanati is currently Assistant Professor of Petroleum Engineering at Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran. He received his PhD in Reservoir Engineering from Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran in 2022.

During the Fellowship stay, the existing cooperation with Dr. Sanati in research on sustainable feedstocks for the petroleum industry will be deepened. Deep eutectic solvents are being investigated as an alternative to conventional chemical additives. These can be tailored to the respective application so that they work more efficiently and are biodegradable. In addition to his research activities, Dr. Sanati is also involved in teaching. Furthermore, a joint DFG proposal will be completed during the fellowship stay.

Dr. Sanati has many years of experience as a university lecturer and an extensive list of publications. He was a visiting researcher at TU Dresden twice during his doctorate. This resulted in joint publications, which will now be built upon.

Prof. Dr. Rodrigo Lozano

Degree: PhD Sustainability Economics | Program: Dresden Senior Fellowship | Timeframe: September 5, 2024 – October 10, 2024 & May 1, 2025 – May 31, 2025 | Host Institution in Germany: Faculty of Business and Economics, Chair of Business Administration, esp. Environmental Management | Host: Prof. Dr. Remmer Sassen

Prof. Dr. Lozano is currently a Visiting Professor at the Central University of Technology, Bloemfontein, South Africa, and guest lecturer at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria. He holds a PhD in Sustainability Economics from Cardiff University Business School, Cardiff University, UK.

During Prof. Dr. Lozano's Felowship stay, a joint research proposal on the analysis of sustainability skills development from a student perspective is planned in cooperation with Prof. Sassen. In addition, Prof. Lozano will be involved in teaching by offering guest lectures, workshops for doctoral students and a research colloquium.

Prof. Lozano has been committed to sustainability in organizations for over twenty years. In doing so, he has contributed to sustainability research in companies, higher education institutions, public sector organizations and civil society organizations. To date, Prof. Dr. Lozano has published more than 95 peer-reviewed papers, one book on sustainable organizations as sole author and three books as co-author. He has been listed among the top 0.2% of the best researchers in the world (Stanford/Elsevier) for four consecutive years. In addition to his work as a professor, Prof. Lozano is a member of the editorial boards of about 10 journals and has reviewed more than 40 journals.

Prof. Dr. Douglas Cairns

Degree: PhD Classical Philology | Program: Dresden Senior Fellowship | Timeframe: May 1, 2024 – June 30, 2024 & April 1, 2025 – June 30, 2025 | Host Institution 1 in Germany: Faculty of Linguistics, Literature and Cultural Studies, Institute of Classical Philology | Host 1: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Mario Baumann | Host Institution 2: Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science, Institute of History | Host 2: Prof. Dr. Christoph Lundgren

Prof. Dr. Douglas is Cairns Professor of Classics in the Department of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. He completed his PhD in Classics at the University of Glasgow in 1987.

Prof. Cairns will complete his fellowship in both the Department of Classics and the Department of History. The theme of emotions will act as an overarching bracket linking all sub-projects. The fellowship includes workshop and discussion formats for students, doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers as well as joint publication activities.

Prof. Cairns' stay will deepen existing collaborations. He is the recipient of the Anneliese Maier Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and has already worked closely with the Department of Classical Studies at TU Dresden on a wide range of research activities during the associated funding period from 2018-2024. Now the basis for joint project proposals is to be laid. The topic of emotions fits perfectly with the main areas of work of Prof. Lundgren and Prof. Baumann.

Prof. Cairns is a leading international expert on the role of emotions in various social and political contexts in the field of ancient studies. He has taught and researched at international universities, including the University of Otago, New Zealand and the University of St Andrews, UK, before being appointed Professor of Classics at the University of Edinburgh in 2004. Prof. Cairns has received numerous academic awards, including research fellowships from the Humboldt Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust. He is President of the Classical Association of Scotland.

Dr. Rona Graham

Degree: PhD Medicine | Program: Dresden Senior Fellowship | Timeframe: March10, 2025 – May 1, 2025 | Host Institution in Germany: Faculty of Medicine, Clinic and Polyclinic for Ear, Nose and Throat Medicine | Host: Prof. Dr. med. Thomas Hummel

Prof. Dr. Rona Graham received her PhD in Medical Genetics from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia in 2006. Since 2012, she has been an Associate Professor at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology and a member of the Institute Research Center on Aging.

As part of the Dresden Senior Fellowship, Prof. Graham will contribute her expertise in the research of olfactory systems in neurodegenerative diseases. A particular focus will be on the further development of her “Cognitive Associated Diagnostic Odors” signature and the investigation of olfactory bulb volume as a possible marker for mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

The collaboration aims to achieve a sustainable transfer of knowledge and technology between the two universities. In the short term, a student exchange is to be established, and joint research data generated for a publication on early MCI markers. In the long term, Prof. Graham is aiming for a permanent partnership with joint funding applications in Canada and Europe.

Prof. Graham has established herself as an expert in neurodegenerative diseases, with a research focus on Huntington's, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Her research is characterized by a multidisciplinary approach that combines cellular, genetic and biochemical techniques with the correlation of behavioral deficits and neuropathology through MRI and stereology. As a member of professional societies such as the Society for Neuroscience and the Consortium pour l'Identification précoce de la Maladie d'Alzheimer - Québec, she has a strong international network.

Dr. Dmitry Payson

Degree: PhD Technology & Economics | Program: Dresden Senior Fellowship | Timeframe: March 1, 2025 – August 31, 2025 | Host Institutions in Germany: Faculty of Business and Economics, Chair of Business Administration & Faculty of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Chair of Space Systems | Hosts: Prof. Dr. Lars Hornuf & Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Martin Tajmar

Dr. Dmitry Payson received his PhD from the Aerospace School of the Moscow Aviation Institute in 2003 with a thesis on spacecraft design considering economic factors. In 2011, he obtained another PhD in Economics at the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences with a dissertation on institutions and institutional design in spaceflight. Since March 2023, he has been working as a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

During his stay as part of the Dresden Senior Fellowship, Dr. Payson will work on the development of an economic model of spaceflight that reconciles the basic principles of goods economics with the different governance structures of different countries. His expertise will be incorporated into the “Space Economics” course initiated by Prof. Dr. Lars Hornuf, which is to be expanded into an international degree course in the medium term along the lines of comparable programs. The collaboration is also aimed at the possible establishment of an ESA Business Incubation Center for the region of eastern Germany and will strengthen interdisciplinary cooperation between the fields of economics and aerospace engineering at TU Dresden.

Dr. Payson's research interests range from the institutional design of space activities to the political economy of the space industry and the theory of public goods in basic research. With over 25 years of experience in research, teaching and management in the field of space policy, economics and innovation, he has had an impressive career. This includes positions such as Director of the Roscosmos Research Center (2017-2018) and Deputy Director of the Skolkovo Space Cluster, an institution promoting start-ups and private initiatives.

Prof. Dr. Anthony Guiseppi-Elie

Degree: Sc.D. Materials Science and Engineering | Program: Dresden Senior Fellowship | Timeframe: March 1, 2025 – May 31, 2025 | Host Institution in Germany: Faculty of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Science| Host: Prof. Dr. Gianaurelio Cuniberti

Prof. Dr. Anthony Guiseppi-Elie is President and Senior Fellow at the American International Institute of Medical Sciences, Engineering, and Innovation, South Carolina, USA. He received his doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States, in 1983.

At TU Dresden, Prof. Guiseppi-Elie will investigate electrically conductive hydrogels in bioanalytical microdevices as part of a research collaboration. His research will focus on the development of patient-centered, bio-integrated electronic platforms that harness electrically conductive hydrogels and carbonaceous nanomaterials for precision medicine. To this end, he uses various molecular and structural elements for the design of biosensor platforms.

Prof. Guiseppi-Elie will give several lectures in electrobiology, bioelectricity and bioelectronics during the Fellowship period. In addition, through his contact with Dr. Hana Lísalová from the Biointerfaces Laboratory of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, he will initiate collaboration between the research groups. In addition, Prof. Guiseppi-Elie is planning to organize a conference on the topic of “Convergence”, which will take place in May 2025.

Prof. Guiseppi-Elie is known for his transdisciplinary work spanning materials chemistry, electronic materials, polymer science, physiology, microlithography, microelectronics and biomedical instrumentation. He worked in industry for 15 years before being appointed professor in 1998. He has subsequently established a remarkable research, innovation and commercialization program for responsive electrically conducting hydrogels and carbonaceous nanomaterials for biomedical diagnostics. In 1995, Prof. Guiseppi-Elie was the first to introduce electrically conductive hydrogels and in 2002 the first to demonstrate direct electron transfer between oxidoreductase enzymes and electrodes. Furthermore, Prof. Guiseppi-Elie is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and the Royal Society of Medicine, among others.

Prof. Dr. Nicole Adler

Degree: PhD Operations Research | Program: Dresden Senior Fellowship | Timeframe: October 20, 2024 – December 02, 2024 & February 15, 2025 - March 31, 2025 | Host Institution in Germany: "Friedrich List" Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, Institute of Transport and Economics | Host: Prof. Dr. Georg Hirte

Prof. Dr. Nicole Adler has held a professorship for Operations Research at the Hebrew University Business School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, since 2015 and has also held the position of Dean since 2021. She earned her PhD in Operations Research at Tel Aviv University, Israel, in 1998.

The Fellowship stay serves to expand previous collaborations. Among other things, Prof. Adler and Prof. Hirte will finalize a joint paper during. In addition, an Erasmus program between TU Dresden and the Hebrew University Business School is to be initiated. Prof. Adler will also be involved in teaching in the Transportation Economics Master's and will serve as a contact person for doctoral students.

Prof. Adler is internationally renowned in the fields of transportation and aviation economics, operations research, game engineering and productivity modeling. In her multidisciplinary research, she combines microeconomic concepts and cost-benefit assessments with geographical spatial analysis and data envelopment analysis. This approach has led to new ways of understanding the evolution and potential transformation of transportation markets. Prof. Adler is editor of Operations Research, one of the most important journals in the field of operations research and logistics. She is also an Elected Fellow of the Air Transport Research Society. She already has over 6000 citations, an H-index of 33 and publishes in the most prestigious journals in her field.

Prof. Dr. Ralph Buehler

Degree: PhD Planning and Public Policy | Program: Dresden Senior Fellowship | Timeframe: January 20, 2025 – May 31, 2025 | Host Institution in Germany: "Friedrich List" Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, Institute of Transport Planning and Road Traffic | Host: Prof. Dr. Regine Gerike

Prof. Ralph Buehler is Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA. He received his PhD in 2008 from Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA.

During his stay at TU Dresden, he will be conducting a comparative study at the Institute of Transportation Planning and Road Traffic. The aim of the project is to compare the traffic behavior of children and young people in Germany and the US over a period of around 20 years. The analysis, which is based on existing data, aims to examine similarities and differences in mobility behavior and to identify trends over time. The study is intended to support the identification of possible measures and target groups that will help children and young people to walk, cycle and use public transport more often and more safely.

Prof. Buehler has a background in transport and regional planning. He researches and teaches primarily on the question of how personal, spatial and traffic contexts affect mobility behavior and, in particular, cycling and walking. He uses the knowledge gained to develop recommendations for the design of cities that promote multimodal mobility, ensure accessibility for all groups of people and of transport as well as a high quality of life while protecting the environment and conserving resources. Prof. Buehler publishes in leading journals of the field. His contributions and research have been recognized with numerous awards, including the recent Alumni Award for Research Excellence 2023 from the Virginia Tech Alumni Association.

Dr. Andrea León

Degree: PhD Physics | Program: Dresden Junior Fellowship | Timeframe: August 8, 2024 – October 8, 2024 & January 1, 2025 – March 30, 2025| Host Institution in Germany: Faculty of Physics, Institute of Solid State and Material Physics | Host: Prof. Dr. Elena Hassinger

Dr. León holds a position as Assistant Professor at the Physics Faculty at the University of Chile, Santiago, Chile. She received her PhD in Physics at the Federico Santa María Technical University, Vaparaíso, Chile.

At TU Dresden, Dr. León will conduct research materials with unique superconducting phenomena. Specifically, she will study the electronic and mechanical properties of Ce,La(RhAs)₂ compounds under pressure and strain using ab-initio calculations and theoretical models. This topic is part of the research interests of Prof. Hassinger's group, which conducts experimental research to explore new quantum phases of matter at low temperatures. It will serve as the starting point for a continuation of collaboration, in which Prof. Hassinger will contribute theoretical calculations.

During her stay at TU Dresden, Dr. León will conduct seminars covering diverse areas of her expertise, including subjects like 2D antiferromagnetic materials and the new phenomenon of altermagnetism, which was discovered only a few years ago.

Dr. León's expertise encompasses material modeling utilizing both ab initio and analytical methods. Her research predominantly investigates emerging quantum phases in strongly correlated materials, particularly magnetic phenomena. After obtaining her PhD, Dr. León has held two postdoctoral research positions in Germany – at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids and later at the Theoretical Chemistry department at TU Dresden.

Dr. Veruska Prado Alexandre Weiß

Degree: PhD Social Science | Program: Dresden Junior Fellowship | Timeframe: October 1, 2024 – March 31, 2025 | Host Institution in Germany: Faculty of Education, Institute of Vocational Education and Vocational Didactics | Host: Prof. Dr. Jana Markert

Dr. Veruska Prado Alexandre Weiß is currently on sabbatical from her lecturer position at the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil. She completed her doctorate in social sciences in the field of food policy at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro in 2018 and the post-doctoral studies at the same university in 2023.

During her Fellowship at TU Dresden, Dr. Weiß will focus on education in the food sector as an instrument for a sustainable and democratic transformation of food systems. Among other things, she will give a lecture on the Brazilian perspective of food and nutritional education for a transformative food system as part of the “Teaching Qualification for Vocational Schools” course and also support the teaching and research activities of the ESD seminar “BildungsAcker”. In addition, she will stimulate debates at film screenings and subsequent fishbowl discussions with TU Dresden students and the public on the topic of “Food Systems Transformation”. Dr. Weiß's stay at TU Dresden is intended to support the long-term development of cooperation with the Federal Rural Universities in Goiás and Rio de Janeiro. Among other things, joint courses on sustainability topics are planned as part of online teaching.

Dr. Weiß is an expert in activating change processes in the higher education of health professionals. Her main topics of research, teaching and consulting include strategies for integrating agriculture and nutrition, analyzing food and nutrition security policies, and health promotion and intersectoral action to promote equity and sustainability. Dr. Weiß was the Management Coordinator of the Collaborating Center for School Food and Nutrition at Federal University of Goiás, Brazil from 2008-2013 and 2018-2021. She joins as member the Brazilian Research Network on Sovereignty and Food and Nutrition Security and Working Group on Health Promotion and Sustainable Development at Brazilian Association of Collective Health (ABRASCO).

Prof. Dr. Vincenzo Fiorentini

Degree: PhD Theoretical Physics | Program: Dresden Senior Fellowship | Timeframe: October 1, 2024 – March 31, 2025 | Host Institution in Germany: Faculty of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Science | Host: Prof. Dr. Gianaurelio Cuniberto

Prof. Dr. Vincenzo Fiorentini currently works as science attaché at the Italian Embassy in Germany and is the Italian delegate to the Council of the European Southern Observatory. He is also an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Science at the University of Cagliari, Italy.

At TU Dresden, Prof. Fiorentini will be working with the Institute of Materials Science on a joint research project on spintronic and multiferroic magnetoelectric memristors. The aim is to find out whether the unique structure-polarization relation in FE-HfO2 can facilitate the incorporation of magnetic dopants, their arrangement or their coupling. The project includes, among others, the study of magnetoelectric coupling and multiferroic properties as well as metal-multiferro-metal superstructures with the selected multiferroics and the evaluation of how multiple states with external coupling could be realized. Prof. Fiorentini also gives lectures on research-oriented topics at TU Dresden, for example a series on "Memristors: materials and modeling" and general lectures on "Ab initio methods for advanced materials".

Prof. Fiorentini has an excellent research background in solid state physics and computer simulations. In particular, he is an expert in ferroelectrics, magnetoelectrics and interface systems. His work is documented in about 160 publications, which have been cited more than 16,000 times, resulting in an H-index of 50. Prof. Fiorentini is Science Attaché at the Italian Embassy in Berlin until June 2024. In this role, he is a link between Italian and German institutions and contributed, among other things, to the founding of SIGN, a new network of Italian scientists in Germany.

Dr. Hrisheekesh Thachoth Chandran

Degree: PhD Physics and Materials Sciences | Program: Dresden Junior Fellowship | Timeframe: September 1, 2024 – February 28, 2025 | Host Institution in Germany: Faculty of Physics, Institute of Applied Physics | Host: Prof. Dr. Karl Leo

Dr. Hrisheekesh Thachoth Chandran joined the Hong Kong Polytechnic University as a Staff Scientist (Research Fellow) in 2022. He completed his PhD in Physics and Materials Science at the City University of Hong Kong in 2017.

During the fellowship at TU Dresden, Dr. Chandran is conducting a research project on infrared photodiodes. Non-invasive near-infrared imaging is essential, particularly in healthcare, pharmaceutical, and surveillance industries, and has primarily relied on photodetectors based on inorganic semiconductors. These detectors are manufactured in complex and expensive processes and require strict hardware requirements, such as expensive megapixel cameras. The research project will therefore develop, and test photodetectors based on organic materials, which are associated with lower costs and high performance. Dr. Chandran will also be involved in teaching. A series of seminars is planned to discuss the basic principles of detectors and specific applications. Application examples of photodetectors will also be demonstrated at events for the "Long Night of Science" and in lectures for students.

The joint research project is intended to serve as a starting point for establishing a long-term cooperation with Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which is a world leader in the field of organic optoelectronics. Joint publications and patent applications are also to result from this.

Dr. Chandran's research focuses on the integration of organic optoelectronic devices into advanced functionalities such as single-pixel imaging, sensitive optical spectroscopy integration, machine learning based vitality surveillance systems as well as photodetection in the short-wave infrared range using novel device architectures and materials. He has already made important contributions to novel opto-electronic devices based on organic semiconductors and (co-)authored 30 scientific publications including lead author publications in Advanced Materials, Materials Horizons and Applied Physics Letters.

Dr. Inessa Skrypkina

Degree: PhD Molecular Biology | Program: Dresden Senior Fellowship | Timeframe: September 1, 2024 – February 28, 2025 | Host Institution in Germany: Faculty of Medicine, OncoRay – National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology | Host: Prof. Dr. Anna Dubrowska

Dr. Inessa Skrypkina is Deputy Head of the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and Head of Laboratory of Biosynthesis of Nucleic Acids at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine. She received her PhD in Molecular Biology in 2003, also from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Since 2022, Dr. Skrypkina has been working with OncoRay – National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology. Her research within the Fellowship will contribute to the development of new biomarkers for radiotherapy of glioblastoma and preclinical testing of radiosensitization therapies for this disease. In addition, Dr. Skrypkina will contribute to the OncoRay teaching program in the tumor pathophysiology study module, organize journal clubs and seminars, teach courses for Bachelor and Master students and establish an intensive interdisciplinary collaboration between OncoRay and her institute in Ukraine. In addition, Dr. Skrypkina participates in a joint Ukrainian-German R&D project of the BMBF for the period 2024-2025.

Dr. Skrypkina has many years of experience in oncology research with a focus on genome analysis. She is a prolific scientist with a scientific output of 65 peer-reviewed publications as well as 223 abstracts at scientific conferences and one scientific patent. She has also received several scientific awards, including the Certificate of Honor of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Dr. Skrypkina is a member of the Federation of European Biochemical Society and the Mykola Vavilov Ukrainian Society of Geneticists and Breeders.

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