PROF. DR. DR.-ING. DR. H. C. JIVKA OVTCHAROVA
Prof. Ovtcharova has been with KIT since 2003. As a graduate engineer with two doctorates in mechanical engineering and computer science, she stands out or her expertise in information and data management in the manufacturing industry. She specializes in virtual engineering, i.e. information technology support of innovative product development and production. In 2014, as head of the Institute for Information Management in Engineering (IMI) at KIT, she founded the Lifecycle Engineering Solutions Center (LESC), equipped with modern virtual reality technologies. IMI’ current research results and IT solutions are implemented, validated, and demonstrated in various laboratories at the LESC. Her scientific merits were honored, among others, by an honorary doctorate from Sophia University of Technology in 2011. Since 2004, Prof. Ovtcharova is also the director of the Research Center for Informatics Karlsruhe (FZI).
Prof. Ovtcharova has many years of practical experience in the industry, including as Head of the Process and Systems Integration Center (PSIC) at General Motors Europe, wher she focused on product lifecycle management, product data and workflow management, product configuration and virtual prototyping.
DIPL.-INFORM. POLINA HÄFNER
From September 2004 to March 2009, Polina Häfner studied computer science following the Karlsruhe curriculum at the Faculty of German Engineering and Business Administration Education (FDIBA) at the Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria. She then continued her studies at KIT and graduated in 2012 with a diploma in computer science. During this time, she already worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Information Management in Engineering (IMI). Her diploma thesis "Development of an intuitive, easy-to-use human-machine interface for immersive environments" dealt with one of the weak points of virtual reality - interaction.
From 2012, Häfner continued her scientific career at KIT and has since been a research associate at IMI. She is mainly involved in basic and contract research in the field of virtual reality and human-machine interface, in particular Immersive 3D Visualization and Virtual Learning Environments. Currently, Häfner is involved in the projects DriveSim and dimenSion and is teaching the practical course "Virtual Reality /Engineering" for students at IMI, for which she developed the teaching concept.
Since 2009, Häfner is giving presentations on virtual reality at national and international conferences and has received two best paper awards.
