Organizers
Chair & Contact: Mario Trapp
TUM & Fraunhofer IKS, Germany
Mario Trapp is a full professor of Computer Science at the Technical University of Munich, where he holds the Chair for Engineering Resilient Cognitive Systems. In addition, he serves as the executive director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems in Munich, Germany. He is also the current chair of the EWICS association. Besides his research activities, Professor Trapp is actively involved in the standardization of safety and works at the interface between research and industry. He has more than 25 years of experience as a safety expert in research and industry. He has been organizing several workshops and conferences before.
Co-Chair: Krzysztof Czarnecki,
University of Waterloo, Canada
Krzysztof Czarnecki is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a University Research Chair at the University of Waterloo, where he leads the Waterloo Intelligent Systems Engineering (WISE) Laboratory. He currently also serves as an Associate Director of the Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research (WatCAR). His research focuses on assuring the safety of AI systems and driving behavior. In 2018, he co-led the development of the first autonomous vehicle tested on public roads in Canada. He has made significant contributions to automotive AI and software safety standards, including SAE J3164 and ISO 8800. Before joining the University of Waterloo, he worked at DaimlerChrysler Research in Germany (1995-2002), where he advanced software development practices and technologies for enterprise, automotive, and aerospace sectors. His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Premier’s Research Excellence Award (2004) and the British Computing Society’s Upper Canada Award for Outstanding Contributions to the IT Industry (2008). He has also received twelve Best Paper Awards, two ACM Distinguished Paper Awards, and five Most Influential Paper Awards.
Co-Chair: Magnus Albert
SICK AG, Germany
As Principal Expert in Dependability Methods at SICK AG, Germany, Magnus Albert plays a pivotal role in the realm of industrial sensor and system engineering. His responsibilities at SICK encompass the development and implementation of cutting-edge methods and methodologies from research to industrial applications. In addition, Magnus Albert is actively involved in research projects and collaborations, and serves as a supervisor for industry-related bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral students. In addition to these responsibilities, Magnus plays an active role in standardization projects, with the objective of facilitating modern safety approaches in real-world applications. Furthermore, he serves as a member in various program committees for safety and dependability conferences, where he provides active support to the research community. He is furthermore an active member of EWICS-TC7. By organizing conferences and workshops at the interface between research and industry, Magnus aims to foster collaboration between these communities. Magnus holds a PhD in physics and has accumulated over 12 years of industry experience in safety and dependability engineering.
Co-Chair: Robert Puto
TÜV Süd China Holding, China
As Senior Vice President of TÜV SÜD China Holding Ltd, Hong Kong, Robert Puto is responsible for the Business Unit ‘Commercial Products’. During his long-standing international career, he has been directly involved in the development and rollout of new technical services for the sectors of Industrial Machines and Intelligent Automation, Solar PV and Energy Storage, and Transportation. Over the last eight years, a major focus of his work has been on developing new services in the context of Industry 4.0. A firm believer in the “safe and secure-by-design” paradigm and “dynamic safety,” he initiated and led the development of the ‘Adaptive Safety & Security System’ – a patented solution enabling Safety@Runtime. The design and Proof of Concept were achieved through crossdomain teamwork between TÜV SÜD experts from Germany, China, Singapore, and Korea, in cooperation with the Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) of Hong Kong. Currently, pilot projects with the industry and universities are underway. Robert holds a master’s degree in electronic engineering from Politecnico di Torino (Italy) with a research thesis on ‘Uncertainty Propagation in Bayesian Expert Systems,’ and subsequently a diploma in international business management from China-Europe International Business School (CEIBS-Shanghai). He has also acted as a qualified Technical Certifier and Auditor ISO/IEC 17025 under TÜV SÜD Product Service. He combines hands-on experience and strategic vision to lead and inspire teams.