Marco Lorenz is University Professor for „Thermal Turbomachinery“ and Head of the Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery (Division III).
After studying mechanical engineering at the universities of Karlsruhe and Lund (Sweden), Marco Lorenz earned his Ph.D. in 2013 at KIT in the field of thermal turbomachinery, specializing in heat transfer and cooling. He subsequently held various positions at Mahle Behr and later at Robert Bosch GmbH, where he was responsible for technical leadership and project management related to thermal management for hybrid-electric vehicles and their drive components. During this time, he taught courses on energy and thermal management in modern drive systems. Most recently, as a project manager, he was responsible for coordinating interdisciplinary, global teams to develop an electric drive system for turbo compressors in fuel cell systems. Marco Lorenz is now applying his experience to advance the research on hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion systems and intelligent energy systems at KIT.
What he is particularly looking forward to at KIT: To conduct research on sustainable solutions for energy and aircraft propulsion in collaboration with colleagues, staff, and students from various disciplines, as well as partners in research and industry.
Maximilian Förster is a Tenure-Track Junior Professor and Head of the Research Group „Information Systems IV – Digital Platforms & Services“ at the Institute for Information Systems (Division II).
His research focuses on the reflective use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and encompasses the development of reflective methods in AI (e.g., Explainable AI, Uncertainty-aware AI), social and economic value creation enabled by AI, and equiping individuals with the skills needed to thrive in the age of AI. After studing physics at the LMU Munich (Bachelors), Maximilian Förster studied physics and management (Masters) and earned his doctorate in the field of Information Systems at the University of Ulm. As a post-doctoral researcher there, he built among others a research group on Explainable AI.
What he finds particularly exciting at KIT: the clear focus of research on societal impact and the palpable enthusiasm of researchers to truly make a difference.
Kim V. Berghaus is Junior Professor at KIT for "Theoretical Cosmology" at the Institute for Theoretical Physics (Division V).
She also leads a DFG Emmy Noether Research Group at the Institute for Astroparticle Physics. Her research connects particle physics beyond the Standard Model with cosmological observations, with a particular focus on cosmological periods of accelerated expansion. She received her PhD in 2020 from Johns Hopkins University and subsequently held postdoctoral positions at Stony Brook University and as a Sherman Fairchild Scholar at Caltech. Her work on warm inflation with the Standard Model was featured in late 2025 in high profiled journals. With her arrival at KIT, she returns to Germany after 15 years in the United States.
What she finds particularly exciting about KIT: The diverse research landscape at KIT, which combines broad expertise in experimental and theoretical particle and astroparticle physics, and its unique status as a University of Excellence within the Helmholtz Association.
Moritz Dörstelmann is University Professor of KIT for „ Digital Design and Fabrication “ at the Institute for Building Design and Technology (Division IV).
Moritz Dörstelmann studied in Aachen and Vienna. From 2011 to 2017, as a research associate at the Institute for Computer-Based Design and Construction (ICD) at the University of Stuttgart, he developed digital design and manufacturing methods using full-scale research buildings. From 2017 onward, he continued researching digital building technologies at full scale as a visiting professor at the TU Munich. With the foundation of FibR GmbH, Moritz Dörstelmann has been enabling the technology transfer of his research into construction practice since 2017. The company realizes novel fiber-composite lightweight structures for load-bearing structures, facades and interior fittings. Since 2021, he has been conducting research as a Junior Professor of KIT on digital construction technologies for circular and sustainable building methods at the intersection of research and teaching. Dörstelmann has now been appointed as a University Professor of KIT.
What he finds particularly exciting at KIT:
KIT’s interdisciplinary and excellent research environment offers unique cooperation opportunities for architecture, civil engineering, computer science, robotics, and materials science in the socially relevant field of digital and sustainable construction.
Michael Spannowsky is University Professor of KIT for „Theoretical Physics“ at the Institute of Theoretical Physics (Division V).
After studying physics in Tübingen, Michael Spannowsky earned his doctorate at the LMU Munich. This was followed by postdoctoral positions in Karlsruhe and at the University of Oregon. In 2011, he started at Durham University, first as a lecturer and later as a full professor. Since 2019, he has been in Durham director of the IPPP, the national center for particle phenomenology in the UK. His research combines three areas: theoretical particle physics, particularly Higgs and precision physics, effective field theories and new interactions; AI-assisted methods for analyzing complex data; and quantum computing–based algorithms for field theories, many-body systems, and simulations beyond classical computing methods.
What he finds particularly exciting at KIT: Excellent basic research is combined with strong methodological and technological expertise. The close connection between theoretical physics, AI, data science, and quantum research opens up new opportunities to address fundamental questions from very different perspectives and approaches.
What he is particularly looking forward to at KIT: The many open and friendly colleagues and the exchange across disciplinary boundaries. Such encounters often give rise to the best ideas. The fact that everyday academic life at KIT takes place between the South Campus and the North Campus also gives it a dynamic of its own. As a Swabian, one naturally has a particular affinity for such an invitation to efficient pathways and elegant solutions.
Zäzilia Seibold is a University Professor of KIT for “Intelligent Technical Logistics Systems“ at the Institute for Material Handling and Logistics (Bereich III). After completing her Franco-German double degree in Mechanical Engineering, she earned her doctorate at KIT in 2016 in the field of modular, decentralized material handling systems. Over the following nine years at Robert Bosch GmbH, she took on various leadership roles – ranging from the strategic development of company-wide logistics concepts to operational responsibility in plant logistics and the coordination of intralogistics process experts worldwide. She aims to build on this industry experience to further develop material handling and logistics as integrated, data-driven, and adaptive systems. Future logistics systems should be enabled to not only capture their environment, but also to understand structural relationships by linking available information with local intelligence and to derive actions autonomously.
What she is particularly looking forward to at KIT: Working together with colleagues, staff, and students to create new impulses at the interface between scientific research and industrial application.
Philipp Staudt is a Junior Professor of KIT and Head of the Research Group „Information Systems II – Digital Energy“ at the Institute for Information Systems (Bereich II). He studied Industrial Engineering and Business Mathematics at KIT, where he also completed his PhD in Information Systems, focusing on the digitalization of energy systems. He subsequently led the Smart Grids & Energy Markets research group at KIT and conducted research as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From 2022 to 2026, he was Junior Professor of Information Systems at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. His research focuses on the digitalization of energy systems and its impact on markets and individuals, as well as the sustainable digitalization of organizations.
What he finds particularly exciting at KIT: The combination of technical expertise and economic scholarship at the Institute for Information Systems and the KIT Faculty of Economics and Business Engineering – and the dedicated students and doctoral researchers in Information Systems (and beyond).
