Understanding how machines learn
Computer scientist Christin Seifert becomes hessian.AI professor in Marburg
Prof. Dr. Christin Seifert has been appointed to a newly established professorship for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Philipps University Marburg, effective April 1, 2023. It is also one of the first professorships at the Hessian Center for Artificial Intelligence, hessian.AI. The professorship combines research at the hessian.AI center with research and teaching at the University of Marburg and advances AI research in Hesse in this network.
With the appointment of the hessian.AI professorship, Marburg takes an important step forward in research on AI as well as in the at least equally important task of translating the topic into social and economic practice
Thomas Nauss, President of Philipps University and founding member of hessian.AI
Seifert’s research focus is on “intelligent decision support systems,” particularly in medicine. How can we succeed in increasing trust in learning machines, especially in sensitive fields of application? This question drives Christin Seifert’s research. After all, learning machines are finding their way into more and more areas of life and are involved in important decisions, for example in medicine. Seifert is therefore researching, among other things, how to make the algorithms underlying artificial intelligence explainable.
We cannot and should not stop developments in artificial intelligence. However, we should find a balance between blind euphoria and irrational fear when dealing with AI.
Christin Seifert, hessian.AI member
While Seifert is a member of the hessian.AI center and performs her research services within hessian.AI in Darmstadt, she strengthens research and teaching at the Lahnberge campus in Marburg. Her interdisciplinary approach is intended to expand existing collaborations between the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and other departments, especially the Department of Medicine, and to result in joint research projects.
The Dean of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and also member of hessian.AI, Bernd Freisleben, emphasizes, “Seifert is addressing the medical issues of her current research with very innovative approaches from computer science. This is evidenced by numerous awards she has received for her research. She is well networked internationally and also works in an interdisciplinary manner with researchers from other disciplines. Many departments at Philipps University could benefit from her broad thematic connectivity.”
With Christin Seifert, we are filling one of the first hessian.AI professorships at Philipps-Universität Marburg. Her renowned and internationally recognized expertise and research in the area of Deep Decision Support Systems provides an interdisciplinary contribution to AI research in Hesse and beyond and will further strengthen and advance the center and its broad-based research expertise. We look forward to this addition to our ranks and the upcoming collaboration.
Mira Mezini and Kristian Kersting, Co-Directors hessian.AI
About the person
Christin Seifert received her PhD from TU Graz, Austria, in 2012 after studying computer science at TU Chemnitz. After working as a PostDoc at the University of Passau, a substitute professorship at the TU Dresden and a position as Associate Professor at the University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands, she has held a W3 professorship for Medical Data Science in Oncology at the University of Duisburg-Essen since 2019.
