100th cooperative doctorate at the THI

The 31-year-old scientist comes from Villarrobledo, Spain, and completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in industrial engineering in Ciudad Real. At the end of his master's degree, Alberto Flores Fernández started working as a research assistant at CARISSMA, where he conducted research on a project under the supervision of Prof. Michael Botsch and Prof. Christian Facchi; at the same time, he completed his PhD under Prof. Andrés García Higuera.

His dissertation focuses on motion prediction and planning for automated vehicles using a multimodal approach. The opportunity to work on improving driver assistance systems with a focus on road safety was the main motivation for Alberto Flores Fernández to choose his topic. "Working in the team of Professors Botsch and Facchi was a stroke of luck for me," Fernández sums up. "The regular and planned supervision was key to the success of the research. Also worth mentioning is the good working atmosphere among all the colleagues and the constant collaboration that made it possible to link the different research topics developed by the group." On a personal level, Ingolstadt had offered him an ideal environment: He has been able to successfully reconcile his personal and professional life, he says, as the city is quiet, accessible, safe, and very family-oriented.

In the short term, Dr. Fernández would like to complete the SAVeNoW research project. In the future, he said, he wants to use the research knowledge he has gained over the past five years to contribute to the industry.

Dr. Fernández was supported throughout the process by THI's Graduate Center. This aims to promote and network young scientists and to ensure and further develop quality standards for the doctoral process. Further information can be found at: www.thi.de/forschung/graduiertenzentrum/