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The Jury of the Deep Tech Award

Web3 – DLT, Blockchain, NFT & Metaverse

WebJurymitglied Katharina Adam

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katarina Krüger, HTW Berlin

Katarina Krüger teaches on the Industrial Engineering and Management, Investment & Finance, Controlling and ABWL degree programmes at HTW Berlin as well as in project groups on possible applications of blockchain technology. She has also developed the Cyber Security and Business degree programme for her university, which has been running since 1 October 2024. Among other things, the intersections between blockchain technology and cyber security aspects are taught and further researched in this degree programme.
Katarina Krüger is a lecturer on blockchain technology worldwide and her research focuses on real estate, finance and cyber security as well as the linking of new technologies with blockchain technology. She is also a member of the ‘Education’ working group in the European Blockchain Association. She is also a member of various selection committees at the DAAD.
Katarina Krüger’s published books are available in German and English.

Jurymitglied regine Haschka Helmer

Regine Haschka-Helmer, Seedlabs

Regine Haschka-Helmer has worked in the digital media industry for over 25 years and was CEO of the listed company I-D Media AG, among others.
In 2010, she founded Seedlab GmbH, which supports start-ups and established companies in the development of new digital business models and innovative marketing and technology solutions.
and innovative marketing and technology solutions. She then spent four years as Executive Director Market Strategy at the IOTA Foundation, an organisation in the field of distributed ledger technology.
Regine Haschka-Helmer is currently co-founder of Ndini, a blockchain-based DeFai autonomous AI agent that optimally combines blockchain and AI technologies.
She is also an advisor for various Web3 start-ups.

Jurymitglied Christoph Haupenthal

Dr. Christoph Haupenthal, Institute for Applied Blockchain

Christoph Haupenthal is the head of the Institute for Applied Blockchain. He has been active as a researcher, entrepreneur, and consultant for more than 25 years. Dr. Haupenthal has successfully executed over 50 strategy and digitalization projects in his career, ranging from efficiency improvements to platform strategies and blockchain technologies.

Artificial Intelligence

Franziska Weindauer

Franziska Weindauer, TÜV AI.Lab

Franziska Weindauer is the CEO of TÜV AI.Lab, a joint venture founded by some of the largest and most important companies in the certification industry in Germany and beyond. The TÜV AI.Lab is paving the way for trustworthy AI by developing conformity criteria and test methods for AI systems. Previously, Franziska Weindauer has been a senior advisor on digital policy in the German Federal Chancellery, head of policy at Bitkom and an advisor to a key MEP in the European Parliament. She has a background in European Studies from Universities in the Netherlands, UK and Turkey.

Jurymitglied Therea Züger

Dr. Theresa Züger, AI & Society Lab of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society

Theresa Züger is head of the AI & Society Lab and the Impact AI project, which focusses on the sustainability and public welfare impact of AI and is funded by the VW Foundation.
Previously, she headed the office of the Third Engagement Report of the Federal Government on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), which focuses on the digitalisation of engagement. In her research, she focusses on the political dimensions of digital technologies and cultures, with a particular interest in questions of democratic theory.

Jurymitglied Fabian Westerheide

Fabian J. G. Westerheide, Asgard Capital Verwaltung GmbH

Fabian Westerheide is the Managing Director of Asgard Capital Verwaltung GmbH and invests in startups that leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI). Additionally, he organizes the specialized conference “Rise of AI,” where Europe’s experts convene annually.

Social & Sustainable Impact

Jurymitglied Geraldine de Bastion

Geraldine de Bastion, Konnektiv

Geraldine leads Konnektiv as the CEO, an agency specializing in digital transformation in the public sector. She is also the founder of the Global Innovation Gathering (GIG), a network of grassroots innovators, social entrepreneurs, founders, and managers of makerspaces, hackerspaces, and innovation centers.

Additionally, Geraldine serves as a moderator and speaker at events related to digital transformation, sustainability, and innovation.

Jurymitglied Peter Udo Diehl

Dr. Peter Udo Diehl, CEO & Founder of Aiur Capital

Peter Udo Diehl is the CEO and founder of Aiur Capital. Before that he was the co-founder of the Deep Tech company Audatic, along with Elias Sprengel. He and his team did work on a software solution that uses Artificial Intelligence to filter out disturbing background noises, thereby improving the quality of life for individuals with hearing impairment and deafness. The Berlin-based startup has become one of the most successful Deep Tech companies in Germany within just twelve months and was awarded the Deep Tech Award in 2019.

Jurymitglied Jochen Schiller

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jochen Schiller, Professor Freie Universität Berlin

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jochen Schiller is the CIO of Freie Universität Berlin and head of the Computer Systems & Telematics research group at the Institute of Computer Science at the Freie Universität Berlin. He was a board member of the Einstein Center Digital Future and the head of the Innovation Center for Public Security at Fraunhofer FOKUS. After fostering several start-ups in the area of networking and embedded systems, he currently is CEO of TURMsolutions, a company developing public warning and alerting systems. His research focuses on wireless, mobile, embedded systems, their communication protocols and operating systems, as well as networked security.

Photonics & Quantum Technologies

Dr. Gabrielle Thomas

Dr. Gabrielle Thomas, Group Leader Marketing Menlo Systems GmbH

Dr. Gabrielle Thomas is Group Leader for Marketing at Menlo Systems GmbH, and Academic Visitor at Imperial College London. She has been dedicated to the development and communication of innovations in photonics and quantum technologies for more than 10 years. She was awarded her PhD in Laser Physics and Nonlinear Optics from Imperial College London in 2011, and was named one of the World Economic Forum’s “Young Scientists” in 2016. Since her PhD, she has worked in academic and commercial environments, with a strong focus on bringing technology from the lab into the real world.

Dr. Barbara Wellmann – Director Lead Quantum.Link Deloitte Consulting GmbH

Dr. Markus Krutzik

Dr. Markus Krutzik, Ferdinand-Braun Institute, Humboldt University in Berlin, and Quantum Hub Leap.

Markus Krutzik is the head of the Joint Lab Integrated Quantum Sensors at the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, which is operated in cooperation with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The research focuses on integrated atom-based measurement technology for application in metrology, sensing, and information processing. The systems are developed for use outside of laboratory environments, particularly for space applications. The physicist obtained his doctorate from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in 2014 and has conducted research at institutions such as the University of California, Berkeley, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. Capital magazine named him as part of the Top 40 under 40 – Young Elite in 2018.

Robotics

Prof. Dr Ilona Buchem – Professor of Communication and Media Studies BHT

Matthias Ziege

Matthias Ziege, Head of Mercedes-Benz Digital Factory Campus

Matthias Ziege is the Head of the MB Digital Factory Campus, the Center of Competence for Digitalization and Automation in the Mercedes-Benz Production Network. With his expertise in Automotive Production and a clear Focus on Innovation, he promotes efficient, flexible Production Processes and drives the Implementation of future-oriented Technologies.

Dr. Gregor Thiele

Dr. Gregor Thiele, Head of the Process Automation and Robotics department at Fraunhofer IPK

Gregor Thiele is head of the Process Automation and Robotics department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK. Since 2011, he has been working on innovations in automation technology and robotics, with a focus on industrial energy management. In 2022, he completed his doctorate on the topic of optimizing the operation of supply systems, which was awarded the Manfred Hirschvogel Prize for the best dissertation of the year at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at TU Berlin. He and his team overcome repetitive, ergonomically harmful or unhealthy activities by using creative solutions with and without robots. Targeted operational optimization makes industrial production more energy-efficient and resource-saving.