Hi, I'm Uwe Gruenefeld
An HCI researcher in love with Mixed Reality
-- For privacy reasons, some information below is blurred. Please contact me for the full CV. --

Education

03/2015 – 02/2020
Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction at University of Oldenburg
Thesis: ‘Visual Cues for Locating Out-of-View Objects in Mixed Reality’
Supervisor: Dr. Wilko Heuten (OFFIS – Institute for Information Technology)
Reviewer: Prof. Dr. Susanne Boll, Prof Dr. Hans Gellersen
Final mark: magna cum laude (equivalent to 3.9 GPA)
10/2012 – 01/2015
Master of Science in Informatics at University of Oldenburg
Major subjects: Computer Graphics, Computational Intelligence
Thesis: ‘A Computational Intelligence Framework for Multidim. Regional Search’
Reviewer: Prof. Dr. Susanne Boll, Dr. Chandan Kumar
Final mark: 1.3 (equivalent to 3.8 GPA)
10/2009 – 09/2012
Bachelor of Science in Informatics at University of Oldenburg
Major subjects: Media Informatics, Didactics
Thesis: ‘Exploring an Information-Technical System for Partly Automated Milk Production – Concept, Testing, and Evaluation’
Reviewer: Prof. Dr. Ira Diethelm, Malte Dünnebier M. Ed.
Final mark: 1.9 (equivalent to 3.4 GPA)
08/2006 – 06/2009
Abitur at Berufsbildende Schulen II, Leer
Abitur (equivalent to A-level)
Focus subjects: Computer Science, Physics, English
Further examination subjects: Mathematics, Economics

Professional Experience

05/2020 – Today
Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Duisburg-Essen
Researching Usable Security, Cross-Reality Systems, and Haptics
Teaching, and Ph.D. Student (Co-)Supervision
02/2018 – 03/2020
Research Assistant in Project IKIMUNI at OFFIS
Working on Human-Robot Collaboration in Mixed Reality
03/2018 – 12/2018
Teaching Assistant at University of Oldenburg
Started a master class on Augmented and Virtual Reality
07/2013 – 12/2014
Research Assistant in DFG-Project Urban Explorer at OFFIS
Web development and Geographical Information Retrieval
10/2010 – 08/2013
Teaching Assistent for the Java Course at University of Oldenburg
Created the script for the course and helped students to learn Java

Teaching

Independent Teaching

I independently organized and taught the following lectures and their exercises.
  • Lecturer for Natural User Interfaces @Westfälische Hochschule (Summer 22)
    • Master, 6 ECTS, German/English
  • Lecturer for Intelligent User Interfaces @Uni Duisburg-Essen (Summer 21, 22, 23)
    • Bachelor, 6 ECTS, German/English

(Co-)Teaching

I organized and taught the following lectures and their exercises, sharing responsibilities with colleagues.
  • Co-Lecturer for Human-Computer Interaction @Uni Duisburg-Essen (Winter 20/21, 21/22, 22/23)
    • Master, 6 ECTS, German/English
  • Co-Lecturer for Computer Architecture @Uni Duisburg-Essen (Winter 20/21, 21/22, 22/23)
    • Bachelor, 6 ECTS, German/English
  • Co-Lecturer for Ubiquitous Interaction Senimar @Uni Duisburg-Essen (Winter 20/21, 21/22)
    • Bachelor/Master, 3 ECTS, German/English
  • Co-Lecturer for Augmented and Virtual Reality Lab @Uni Oldenburg (Winter 17/18, 18/19, 19/20)
    • Master, 6 ECTS, English
  • Co-Lecturer for Augmented and Virtual Reality @Uni Oldenburg (Winter 18/19, 19/20)
    • Master, 6 ECTS, English
  • Co-Lecturer for Java Programming Course @Uni Oldenburg (Winter 16/17)
    • Bachelor, 6 ECTS, German
  • Co-Lecturer for Proseminar - AR, VR, and Eyetracking @Uni Oldenburg (Winter 15/16)
    • Bachelor, 3 ECTS, German

Teaching Support

I helped teach the following lectures and took over individual topics.
  • Teaching Support for Human-Computer Interaction @Uni Oldenburg (Summer 16, 17, 18, 19)
    • Master, 6 ECTS, English
  • Teaching Support for Interactive Systems @Uni Oldenburg (Summer 16, 17, 18)
    • Bachelor, 6 ECTS, German
  • Teaching Support for Web Technologies @Uni Oldenburg (Summer 15, 16)
    • Bachelor, 6 ECTS, German

Groups Advising

  • (Co-)Supervisor for Project Groups at the University of Dusiburg-Essen
    • (Summer 22) 'MultiVeRse: Domain Randomization with Virtual Reality for Robot
      Reinforcement Learning' with 10 students
    • (Winter 21/22) 'A Walk in the Park: Improving the Fitness of Smartphone Users
      with Augmented Reality' with 7 students
    • (Summer 21) 'MirrorMe: Mimicry to Attack Behavioral Biometrics with Games
      in Mixed Reality' with 6 students
    • (Winter 20/21) 'IoTHealth: Enabling End-Users to Create IoT based Health-
      Improvement Suggestions' with 5 students
    • (Summer 20) 'CASH: Continuous Authentication in Smart Homes' with 5 students
  • (Co-)Supervisor for Project Groups at the University of Oldenburg
    • (Winter 16/17) 'EyeMR: Low-cost Eyetracking in Mixed Reality' with 6 students

Student Advising

  • Supervisor for Master Theses at University of Duisburg-Essen
    • Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx (Domain Randomization, Virtual Reality), Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx (Robotics, Domain Randomization, Reinforcement Learning), Xxxxxx Xxxxxx (Health, Avatars, Artificial Intelligence), Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx (Augmented Reality, Haptics), Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx (Usable Security, Mixed Reality), Xxxxxx Xxxxx (Reinforcement Learning, Avatars,
      Virtual Reality), Xxxx Xxxxxx (Usable Security, Deep Learning), Xxxxx Xxxxxx (Explainable AI,
      One-Pixel Attacks)
  • Supervisor for Bachelor Theses at University of Duisburg-Essen
    • Xxxxxx Xxxxx (Voice Interfaces, Health), Xxxx Xxxx (Deep Learning, Virtual Reality), Xxxxxx Xxxx (Foot-Tracking, Virtual Reality), Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx (Usable Security, Motor Skill Learning, Virtual Reality), Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx (Health, Situated Artefacts), Xxxxxxx Xxxxx (Cross-Reality Prototyping, Bystander Inclusion), Xxxxx Xxxxx (Cross-Reality Prototyping, Bystander Inclusion), Xxxxx Xxxxxx (Social, Prototyping, Virtual Reality), Xxxxx Xxxxx (Mental Workload, Deep Learning, Virtual Reality)
  • Supervisor/Reviewer for Master Theses at University of Oldenburg
    • Xxxxxx Xxxxx (Occlusion, Augmented Reality), Xxxxxx Xxxxx (Attention Guidance, Diegetic Cues, Virtual Reality), Xxxxx xxx Xxxxxx (Eye-Tracking, Out-of-View Visualization, Mixed Reality), Xxx Xxxxxxx (Out-of-View Visualization, Augmented Reality)
  • Supervisor/Reviewer for Bachelor Theses at University of Oldenburg
    • Xxxx Xxxxxxxx (Deep Learning, Learning, Human-centered Design), Xxxx Xxxxx (Out-of-View Visualization, Virtual Reality), Group thesis: Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx (Motor Skill Learning, Augmented Reality), Xxxxxx Xxxxx (Attention Guidance, Virtual Reality), Xxxxx Xxxx (Out-of-View Visualization, Augmented Reality)
  • Supervisor for 'International Research Experiences for Students' (IRES) Program
    • Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx (Mental Workload, Virtual Reality), Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx (Attention Guidance, Haptic/Thermal feedback), Xxxx Xxxxx (Out-of-View Visualization, Augmented Reality)

Projects and Funding

Together with Prof. Dr. Stefan Schneegass, we were able to acquire the following research projects. In these projects, I substantially contributed to designing and creating the proposal and currently I am managing the projects from a scientific perspective.
11/2023 – 10/2024
TeKKI: Texturgenerierung für Kreativschaffende durch Mensch-zentrierte Künstliche Intelligenz
EFRE – ca. 270.000€
Startup Funding
09/2021 – 08/2024
Federleicht: Lernunterstützung in der erweiterten Realität mit Hilfe eines intelligenten Sensorstiftes
BMBF – ca. 444.000€
Project Partners: FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, TU Dortmund, Institut für Zukunftsstudien und Technologiebewertung, Weltenmacher GmbH
Uni Duisburg-Essen is the project coordinator Overall Project Budget: 1.550.000€
10/2021 – 09/2023
MeSSeR: Mensch-unterstützte Synthese von Simulationsdaten
für die Robotik
BMBF – ca. 465.000€
Project Partners: OFFIS Institut für Informatik e.V., Oldenburg
Overall Project Budget: 1.001.000€

Scientific Service

  • Student Volunteer Chair
    • 2023, ACM International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services, MobileHCI
  • Invited Paper Chair
    • 2023, Mensch und Computer (ACM In-Cooperation), MuC
  • Topic Advisory Panel
    • 2022, MDPI Journal on Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, MTI
  • Tutorial / Workshop Chair
    • 2022, Mensch und Computer (ACM In-Cooperation), MuC
    • 2020, ACM International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services, MobileHCI
  • Demo / Video Chair
    • 2020, International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, MUM
  • Publication / Proceedings Chair
    • 2019, ACM International Symposium on Pervasive Displays, PerDis
  • Program Chair
    • 2019, International Summer School on Human Computer Interaction in Safety Critical Environments, Oldenburg, Germany
  • Student Volunteer
    • 2017, ACM International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications, AutoUI

Program Commitee

  • 2023, International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, MUM
  • 2023, ACM International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI
  • 2023, Mensch und Computer (ACM In-Cooperation), MuC
  • 2022, International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, MUM
  • 2022, ACM International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices
    and Services, MobileHCI
  • 2022, Mensch und Computer (ACM In-Cooperation), MuC
  • 2021, International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices
    and Services, MobileHCI
  • 2021, International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, INTERACT
  • 2021, ACM International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2021
  • 2021, Mensch und Computer (ACM In-Cooperation), MuC
  • 2020, International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, MUM
  • 2020, Mensch und Computer (ACM In-Cooperation), MuC
  • 2019, Mensch und Computer (ACM In-Cooperation), MuC

External Conference Reviewer

Please note that the special recognitions for outstanding reviews are decided by the 1ACs on PCS.
  • ACM International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
    • CHI 2018/19/20/21/22/23 (6 special recognitions for outstanding reviews)
  • ACM International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices …
    • MobileHCI 2017/18/19/20/21/22/23 (3 special recognitions for outstanding reviews)
  • ACM User Interface Software and Technology Symposium
    • UIST 2018/21/22/23 (3 special recognitions for outstanding reviews)
  • IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality
    • ISMAR 2018/19/20/21/22/23 (1 special recognition for outstanding review)
  • IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces
    • IEEE VR 2019/20/22/23
  • ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology
    • VRST 2017/18/19/21/23
  • ACM International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive …
    • AutoUI 2017/18/19/21/23
  • Mensch und Computer (ACM In-Cooperation)
    • MuC 2019/20/21/22/23
  • ACM International Conference on Designing Interactive Systems
    • DIS 2019/21 (1 special recognition for outstanding review)
  • International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
    • INTERACT 2021
  • Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
    • NordiCHI 2020
  • ACM International Conference on Surfaces and Spaces
    • ISS 2019/21/22
  • ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction
    • SUI 2019
  • ACM International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction
    • TEI 2018/19
  • ACM International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia
    • MUM 2020/21
  • International Technology Conference Mindtrek
    • Mindtrek 2017

External Journal Reviewer

  • ACM Journal on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies
    (2 special recognitions for outstanding reviews)
  • IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics
  • IEEE Multimedia Magazine
  • IEEE Access
  • IEEE Security & Privacy
  • Elsevier International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
  • Elsevier International Journal of Applied Ergonomics
  • Taylor & Francis Behaviour & Information Technology
  • MDPI Journal on Multimodal Technologies and Interactions
  • SAGE Journals: Human Factors
  • De Gruyter i-com Journal of Interactive Media

Research Topics and Collaborators

During my time in Oldenburg and Essen, I conducted research in Mixed Reality, Usable Security, and Haptics. I thereby collaborated on these topics with the following national and international colleagues.
  • Cross-Reality Systems (Prof. Dr. Sven Mayer, Prof. Dr. Jan Gugenheimer, Prof. Dr. Mark Billinghurst, Prof. Dr. Michael Nebeling, Prof. Dr. Frank Maurer, Prof. Dr. Hans-Christian Jetter, Prof. Dr. Christoph Anthes, Prof. Dr. Hai-Ning Liang)
  • Usable Security (Prof. Dr. Stefan Schneegass, Prof. Dr. Florian Alt, Prof. Dr. Mohamed Khamis, Prof. Dr. Ville Mäkelä, Dr. Pascal Knierim)
  • Passive Haptics (Prof. Dr. Ken Pfeuffer, Dr. Marion Koelle)
  • Robotics (Prof. Dr. Jens Gerken, Dr. Max Pfingsthorn)
  • Brain-Computer Interfaces (Prof. Dr. Thomas Kosch)
  • eHealth / Internet of Things (Prof. Dr. Oliver Amft, Prof. Dr. Paweł W. Woźniak)
  • Accessibility (Prof. Dr. Cristina Schneegass)
  • Automotive User Interfaces (Prof. Dr. Andrew Kun)
  • In-View and Out-of-View Visualization / Attention Guidance (Prof. Dr. Adalberto Simeone, Prof. Dr. Susanne Boll, Prof. Dr. Lars Prädel, Dr. Wilko Heuten, Dr. Abdallah El Ali, Dr. Tim Stratmann, Dr. Andreas Löcken, Dr. Sarah Blum, Dr. Jinki Jung)
  • Didactics of Computer Science (Prof. Dr. Ira Diethelm)

Awards

11/2022
Honorable Mention for Best Paper
ACM International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, MUM
Award for 'ExplAInable Pixels: Investigating One-Pixel Attacks on Deep Learning Models with Explainable Visualizations'
04/2022
Honorable Mention for Best Paper
ACM International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI
Award for 'VRception: Rapid Prototyping of Cross-Reality Systems'
09/2019
Honorable Mention for Best Short Paper
Conference Mensch und Computer (ACM In-Cooperation), MuC
Award for 'Improving Search Time Performance for Locating
Out-of-View Objects in Augmented Reality'
03/2015 – 02/2018
Scholarship of 3 Years
Ph.D. Program: Safe Automation of Maritime Systems
University of Oldenburg
09/2017
Honorable Mention for Best Paper
ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction, SUI
Award for 'EyeSee360: Designing a Visualization Technique for
Out-of-View Objects in Head-mounted Augmented Reality'