Die Ingenieure haben das Wissen und das Können, und wir Informatiker bekommen das Geld.

Michel Waringo

Knowledge Brings Fear

Mars University, Futurama

Ignorance Is Bliss

(?)

A lot has happened since the last update to this page, probably sometime in late 2002.
The next few years, I worked as a research assistant in Prof. Henrich's lab, trying to get my PhD thesis done.
Then in 2008, I moved to Baltimore, MD, USA to work at the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics (LCSR), Johns Hopkins University as a postdoc under Prof. Russell Taylor and Dr. Emad Boctor.

I studied Computer Science at the University of Kaiserslautern in (guess!) Kaiserslautern from the winter semester 97/98 until fall 2002.
I passed the Vordiplom in "Informatik mit Nebenfach Wirtschaftswissenschaften" in SS1999. For graduate studies, Michel and me were the first two students to have a try at the then-new Diplomprüfungsordnung, which was the source of much pride, but much confusion and outright rage as well. There even was a pair of glasses (professoral ones) that got tangled in the cobwebs of the new rules and conditions and didn't survive the ensuing struggle over What's Right & What's Not.

My Diploma Exams:

  • Technische Informatik: Prozeßrechentechnik ("physikalische Effekte messen über Frequenz- und/oder Phasenverschiebungen des Oszillators. (Beispiel: NMR-Tomatograph)") & Industrieroboter,
  • Praktische Informatik: Rechnernetze & Trends in Kommunikationssystemen,
  • Theoretische Informatik: Logik und Deduktion & Algorithmische Logik,
  • Angewandte Informatik: Wissensbasierte Techniken im E-Commerce & Grundlagen der Informationssuche,
  • Wirtschaftswissenschaften: International E-Business & E-Commerce I (Makroökonomie & Recht) & Marktforschung und Marketinginformationssysteme & Dienstleistungsmanagement I,
The topic of my diploma thesis was "Robotergestützte Navigation zum Fräsen an der lateralen Schädelbasis (RONAF): Auswertung von Kraftsensordaten" (quite a beast). I researched ways for how to integrate local sensor data into a global enviroment model of a patient's skull to increase process quality of a milling operation. One main objective was proper recognition of critical process states during robot controlled milling in peoples' skulls.

Hiwi Jobs

  • In WS99/00, I have been working as HiWi for the ESSy1 lecture ("Entwicklung von Softwaresystemen 1"), held by Prof. Atkinson of the AG Component Engineering, correcting the first semester students' homework and overseeing their practical exercises (programming etc.).

  • In SS2000, I dared to become a HiWi for the Theo2 lecture ( "Logik und Korrektheit von Programmen"), a fourth semester theoretical lecture held by Prof. Mayer of the AG Logik und Deduktion.

  • In WS00/01, I have been HiWi for the ESSy1 lecture again, this time held by Prof. Hagen of the AG Computergraphik.

  • In SS2001, I have been working as HiWi for the ESSy2 lecture, the sequel to ESSy1, held also by Prof. Hagen.
    At the same time, I have been Hiwi for the SySo ("Systemsoftware") lecture of Prof. Henrich of the AG Eingebettete Systeme und Robotik.

  • WS01/02 saw me as HiWi for the ESSy3 lecture, the sequel to ESSy2, held by Prof. Gotzhein of the AG Rechnernetze.

  • In SS02, parallel to my diploma thesis work, I have been HiWi for the Software-Praktikum, where fourth-semester students have to design, debug, and partly implement a Web-Based Quiz System.

"Achievements"

I hope to supplement and extend the following collection of links to my work continuously, because it is still a bit scant...

  • Proseminar about Practical Natural Language Processing at Prof. Richter's AG Wissensverarbeitung und Künstliche Intelligenz (SS98)

  • Something about the Robotikpraktikum which I did together with Michel. Our programs were a rather incredible mixture of Polish, Spanish, Lëtzebuergesch, PASCAL, and Hausfrauen-C, so maybe I'll put a fragment here (SS2000)

  • Seminar about Chirurgieroboter (.zip) / Surgical Robots at Prof. Henrich's AG Eingebettete Systeme und Robotik (now Lehrstuhl Angewandte Informatik III (Robotik und Eingebettete Systeme)) (SS2000)

  • I wanted to place a kind of diary of my Praktikum at Daimler-Chrysler Aerospace (now EADS) in Ottobrunn near Munich in Spring 2000 here. But THEY didn't want me to do so - classified :-(.
    Thus, I can only say that it was really exciting to work in the industry, seeing all the military-grade things they build. I have been responsible for the installation of I/O cards for a vibration testing system, for evaluating visualisation packages for the vibration data of plane components, and developed several small helper programs. Besides, I witnessed the breakdown of several VT-100 terminals in a row and the failure of a multimillion D-Mark vibration testing facility.


  • In Summer 2000, I did a Praktikum at IBM in Munich.
    There, I worked in the Enterprise Ressource Planning (ERP) department that planned and implemented SAP R/3 systems. My task was to (re-)write programs that evaluate performance data from existing installations. While one would think that IBM is overflowing with computers (and thus performance), one major problem was to accumulate enough computing power on my desk to view mere Excel graphs.

  • Projektarbeit about "Robotics in Otolaryngology Surgery (ROTOS)" at Prof. Henrich's AG Eingebettete Systeme und Robotik (now Lehrstuhl Angewandte Informatik III (Robotik und Eingebettete Systeme)) (WS00/01)

  • A list of all the failed and gone software projects...




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