About

Bio.

I am a Professor at the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences in Bocholt. My work brings together human-centered cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and human-computer interaction. I study how behavioral signals and intelligent systems can make security more seamless, adaptive, and respectful of people’s privacy and control.

Before joining the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, I was a postdoctoral researcher at TU Dortmund University and the Research Center Trustworthy Data Science and Security (RC Trust) in the Human-AI Interaction Group led by Prof. Dr. Sven Mayer. I previously worked in the Human-Computer Interaction Group at the University of Duisburg-Essen, where I completed my doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Stefan Schneegass. My dissertation, Behavioral Biometrics in Extended Reality: Implicit User Authentication through Artificial Intelligence, was awarded summa cum laude.

I also hold Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Applied Computer Science – Systems Engineering from the University of Duisburg-Essen. Alongside my studies and research, I worked in software development, STEM outreach, and e-learning. From 2016 to 2019, I helped establish and operate the central Moodle platform at Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences for approximately 10,000 students and staff.

Research.

My research lies at the intersection of usable security and privacy, artificial intelligence, and extended reality. A central question guides this work: how can intelligent systems protect people without making security another burden they must constantly manage?

During my doctoral research, I developed behavioral-biometric methods for implicit and continuous user identification in XR. I investigated movement, gaze, head orientation, and hand tracking; introduced Functional Biometrics, a class of authentication methods that uses the human body as a transformative function; and released datasets and open-source tools to support reproducible research.

My current research broadens this foundation in three directions:

• predicting human intent and behavior ahead of time to make authentication faster and more adaptive;
• using agentic AI to support people during security-critical tasks while preserving transparency and control; and
• understanding the privacy, robustness, and ethical implications of inferring identity and personal attributes from behavioral data.

Across these directions, I combine technical development with empirical studies of trust, perceived security, privacy, and user experience.

Teaching.

I teach computer science with an emphasis on learning by doing. My teaching experience ranges from large foundational courses with more than 500 students to specialized courses, project groups, and thesis supervision in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, and extended reality.

Digital learning is an important part of my teaching practice. I use interactive exercises, individualized feedback, and flexible learning materials to help students practice complex concepts and monitor their own progress. I particularly enjoy research-oriented formats in which students develop, evaluate, and critically reflect on working systems.

Academic service.

I contribute to the research community as a reviewer and committee member for venues including ACM CHI, ACM VRST, ACM IMWUT, Mensch und Computer, and IEEE journals in biometrics and information security. My service has included roles as Associate Chair, Short Paper Co-Chair, Proceedings Chair, session chair, and student volunteer. I also support open science by publishing datasets, research software, and experimental tools.