Chemnitz University of Technology: Focus on Artificial Intelligence, High-Performance Computing, and IT Security

Prof. Neumayer, you’ve now taken on a dual role. What motivated you to apply for the position of Director of the University Computer Center?

If change is to happen, it takes people who are willing to roll up their sleeves. As a researcher who relies heavily on high-performance IT infrastructure myself, it was also important to me to bring the perspective of research into the strategic development of the URZ and to advocate for a vision of the future that meets the demands of modern science.

In your view, what are the most important tasks of the University Computer Center?

The central task of the URZ is and remains the reliable provision of basic IT infrastructure for the entire university. In addition, I consider it an important task to support staff and students through IT training programs and to actively engage with new technologies in order to make them useful for Chemnitz University of Technology.

What challenges will the University Computer Center face in the future?

A major challenge is the enormous cost-cutting measures we must address, while at the same time the security pressure on our IT infrastructure is constantly growing. Added to this is the task of providing high-performance infrastructure for artificial intelligence—all while maintaining our current level of service to the university in full.

As head of the URZ, what strategic goals do you aim to pursue?

My strategic goals focus primarily on the areas of artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and IT security. Furthermore, I would like to establish streamlined, efficient processes that provide the faculties and central departments with easy access to modern IT infrastructure.

How do you intend to shape the collaboration between the University Computing Center and the university administration, the faculties, and the central units at Chemnitz University of Technology?

A close, ongoing dialogue with the university administration, the faculties, and the central administrative units is important to me. I am aware that not every necessary measure will meet with unanimous approval. This makes it all the more important to me to explain decisions openly and make them understandable—even if they are not always popular.

How is the division of labor between you and URZ Managing Director Ivo Göhler structured? Where do you see your main responsibilities?

While Ivo Göhler, as Executive Director, is responsible for the operational management of the URZ, I see my main responsibility as developing the data center’s strategic vision and representing it to the outside world. This includes networking with other data centers and with policymakers, as well as providing an outside perspective on the URZ—from the standpoint of academia and the university as a whole.

About the Person: Prof. Dr. Sebastian Neumayer

After completing his studies in mathematics at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern (now: Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University of Kaiserslautern-Landau), Sebastian Neumayer worked there as a research assistant from 2018 to 2020. He then moved to the Technical University of Berlin, where he earned his Ph.D. in 2021 with a dissertation titled “Deformation and Transport of Image Data.” From 2021 to January 2024, he worked as a research assistant in the “Biomedical Imaging Group” at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. Since February 2024, he has held the Chair of Inverse Problems at the Faculty of Mathematics at Chemnitz University of Technology. In 2022, Sebastian Neumayer was awarded the Dissertation Prize by the Society for Inverse Problems, and in 2023, he received the “French-German Mathematics in Imaging PhD Prize.”

University Computer Center homepage: https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/urz/ 

Contact 

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Neumayer
Phone +49(0)371 531-36871
Email sebastian.neumayer@mathematik.tu-chemnitz.de.

– – – – –

Related Links

👉 www.tu-chemnitz.de  

Photo: Jacob Müller