DSA awards Manfred Nagl Award for the second time within the Department of Computer Science at RWTH Aachen University
Aachen, November 9th, 2023 - For the second time, DSA Daten- und Systemtechnik GmbH and the Department of Computer Science at RWTH Aachen University awarded the Manfred Nagl Award, which has been endowed since 2022. This year's honoured winner was Dr Jörg Christian Kirchhof for his outstanding dissertation on "Model-driven Development, Deployment, and Analysis of Internet of Things Applications". The award is named after the retired Professor Manfred Nagl, who held the Chair of Computer Science 3 (Software Engineering) at RWTH Aachen University for many years.
The awarding of the Manfred Nagl Award was initiated by DSA in 2022 to honour the excellent research results of young scientists in the field of computer science. In addition, the awarding of the prize is intended to motivate scientists to implement the results of their research in the form of a company start-up. In this context, the financial support is once again divided between the scientific work and the subsequent transfer of the researched solution into business practice.
"The division of the prize money reflects the two aims of the Manfred Nagl Award. Firstly, we honour outstanding scientific achievements in the field of computer science at RWTH Aachen University. In addition, we want to support young scientists in their decision to build a start-up," says DSA Managing Director Dr Thomas Huth, underlining the intention of the award. " Therefore, the potential for founding a company based on the research results is an important criterion for deciding on the award winners. Dr Jörg Christian Kirchhof's work, which won this year's award, fulfils this requirement in every respect". In his dissertation, the computer scientist dealt with the use of explicit models in software development in order to describe the structures and behaviour of software components, interaction patterns and the like, thereby reducing complexity with the aim of synthesising executable software automatically.
By honouring the combination of successes in outstanding research with the development of innovative technologies, the award distinguishes itself from other awards for dissertations in computer science. This is in line with RWTH Aachen University's vision of combining science with entrepreneurial thinking and action. "The award presented by the DSA Schäfer-Schulz Foundation also reflects the company's long-standing ties with RWTH Aachen University and in particular with the Department of Computer Science," emphasises Dr Huth. "This connection begins with our company founder Dr Eckhard Schulz, whose scientific research results formed the basis for the founding of DSA. Over the years, we have welcomed numerous senior employees who completed their doctorates at RWTH Aachen University, most of them at the chair of Professor Dr Manfred Nagl."
Members of the selection committee, from research and industry
The spokesperson for the award selection committee is Prof. Dr. Stefan Kowalewski, Department of Computer Science 11 (Embedded Software); Prof. Dr. Bernhard Rumpe, Department of Computer Science 3 (Software Engineering); Dr. Thomas Huth, Managing Director DSA Daten- und Systemtechnik GmbH; Prof. Dr. Malte Brettel, Vice-Rector for Business and Industry, Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WIN) as well as Maximilian Odendahl, Senior Director AMD (Xilinx).
About DSA
DSA Daten- und Systemtechnik GmbH specializes in innovative communication solutions for vehicle electronics. As a leading expert, DSA supplies modular software and hardware solutions for the entire life cycle of vehicles. In addition, DSA develops customized testing and diagnostic solutions for the development, production, and commissioning of high-voltage energy carriers. The core competence is the development of innovative solutions that enable vehicle manufacturers and service providers to meet the high-quality standards of their industry, optimize process times and make production processes leaner and more flexible. The company is headquartered in Aachen. Worldwide, DSA is represented by subsidiaries in the important automotive locations China, USA, Italy, Brazil, India and Mexico. The DSA Group currently employs more than 850 experts worldwide.
