Research Interests

Nature Inspired Computing and Collective Behaviour of Social Insects

Organic Computing

Parallel/Distributed Architectures and Algorithms
(Reconfigurable Architectures, Analysis of Realistic Parallel Models, Organic Computing)

Algorithms from Nature
(Ant Colony Optimization, Swarm Intelligence, Hybrids of ''Classical'' and ''Natural'' Heuristics)

Bioinformatics
(Phylogeny, Modelling and Simulation of Social (Insect-)Societites, Self-organisation of Biomolecues)

Algorithms and Complexity
(Planning, Routing, Scheduling, Transportation)

Projects:

HFSP (Human Frontier Science Organisation) Research Grant Award (Program Grant) (2007-2010)
Optimization in natural systems: ants, bees and slime moulds Project partner: David Sumpter David (Uppsala University, Sweden), Madeleine Beekman (University of Sydney, Australia), Toshiyuki Nakagaki (Hokkaido University, Japan)

DFG-Project: SOS-TC (since 2005)
Organisation and Control of Self-Organising Systems in Technical Compounds
Within the priority program Organic Computing SPP 1183

DFG-Project: (since 2005)
Refined Methods for Inference of Metazoan Phylogeny Using Mitochondrial Genome Arrangement Data Within the priority program "Deep Metazoan Phylogeny - Stammesgeschichte der Großgruppen der Tiere" (SPP 1174)
Project partner: Peter Stadler (Universität Leipzig, Bioinformatics), Martin Schlegel (Universität Leipzig, Institute for Biology II), Bernd Schierwater (TH Hannover, Institute of Animal Ecology and Cell Biology)

PPP Project: (2009-2010)
Hybrid optimization methods for solving problems in phylogeny, gene network reconstruction and molecule docking Das Projekt wird vom DAAD gefördert im Rahmen der ``DAAD/NSC Joint Research Collaboration''
Projektpartner: Shinn-Ying Ho (Institute of Bioinformatics, National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan)

DFG-Project: HyperRec (2003-2009)
Models and Algorithms for Hyperreconfigurieable Hardware
Within the Network of Excellence: Reconfigurable Computing Systems SPP 1148

PPP Project: (2007-2008)
Selforganising Sensor- and Overlay Networks
The project is supported by the DAAD within the program ``Acciones Integradas Hispano-Alemanas''
Project partner: María José Serna Iglesias, Maria J. Blesa Aguilera, Christian Blum (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain)

EU-Project: EMBIO (2005-2007)
Emergent Organisation in Complex Biomolecular Systems
together with Peter Stadler, University of Leipzig
Other participants: University of Cambridge (UK), University of Groningen (The Netherlands), University of Florence (Italy), Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), University of Vienna (Austria), University of Heidelberg (Germany), University of Leipzig (Germany), Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena (Germany)

PPP project: (2006-2007)
Algorithms for Structured Sequences and Tree in Phylogeny
The project is supported by the DAAD within the program ``DAAD/NSC Joint Research Collaboration''
Project partner: Kun-Mao Chao (National Taiwan University, Taiwan)

DFG-Project: SIRA (2003-2006)
Methods of Swarm Intelligence on Reconfigurable Architectures
(Start 2002)

PPP project: (2005-2006)
Decentraliced Metaheuristics
The project is supported by the DAAD within the program ``Acciones Integradas Hispano-Alemanas''
Project partner: Enrique Alba Torres (Universidad de Málaga, Spain)