Research environment. Students will conduct research at one of two labs:

1. Human-Centered Ubiquitous Media Lab at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (the lab recently moved from Stuttgart). The HCI Lab is led by Professor Albrecht Schmidt, a computer scientist. In his graduate work Schmidt explored the effects of context on human-computer interaction. In subsequent years Schmidt has worked on issues ranging from automotive user interfaces (he is the co-founder of the AutomotiveUI conference series), to public displays, to wearable computing. Beyond running successful labs at multiple universities in Germany, Schmidt has been involved in mentoring students through activities such as teaching at the UBI Summer School, and the Summer School St. Andrew’s.
2. Media Informatics and Multimedia Systems Group at the University of Oldenburg. The group is led by Professor Susanne Boll, a computer scientist. In her graduate work Boll explored models for reuse of multimedia documents. Since then she has worked on issues ranging from gesture recognition, to tactile navigation for pedestrians and drivers, to ambient light displays.

Cultural environment. UNH IRES students will live and work in either Munich or in Oldenburg. In both cities students will encounter history around every corner.

In both Oldenburg and Munich students will enjoy the advantages of living in a 21st century modern, multicultural city. They will also be able to affordably travel to exciting destinations throughout Europe: Paris, London, Berlin, and Amsterdam are all within a few hours by train or plane.