6/3/2025 Cassandra Smith
Written by Cassandra Smith
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines “collaborate” as “to work jointly with others or together, especially in an intellectual endeavor.” Coordinated Science Laboratory Director Klara Nahrstedt, a Swanlund Endowed Chair and Professor in the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science exemplified this definition in her role as being part of an international committee to bring international researchers to German research institutions for an extended research visit and collaboration.
For the past five years, Nahrstedt has served on the Humboldt Research Awards Selection Committees of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Named after the renowned naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt—known for his research on the flora, fauna and geography of Latin America—the Foundation continues his legacy by supporting scientific discovery and international collaboration. Humboldt's pioneering work laid the foundation for disciplines such as physical geography, climatology, ecology, and oceanography.
In addition to conducting his own research, Humboldt was deeply committed to supporting young scholars. This spirit lives on through the Foundation, established to help rebuild Germany’s academic landscape after World War II.
The Foundation offers a variety of fellowships to researchers across disciplines. Before joining the selection committee, Nahrstedt herself was the 2009 Humboldt Research Awardee. As part of the Humboldt Research Award, also known as the Humboldt Prize, she conducted research at the Technical University of Darmstadt with Professor Ralf Steinmetz, a noted computer scientist, in his KOM (Multimedia Communication and Networks) research group. At the time, Nahrstedt was developing tele-immersion technologies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Her work contributed to the Tele-Immersive Environment for Everybody (TEEVE) project, which was developed in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley. Using Internet2, the team transmitted 3D video of dancers performing simultaneously from various locations across the country. The goal was to test real-time network protocols and synchronization between performers and their 3D counterparts in real time—an innovation that helped pave the way for advanced video conferencing technologies and peer-to-peer systems.
“Professor Steinmetz, my host, was interested in my work with tele-immersion and peer-to-peer systems,” Nahrstedt said. “He thought I had innovative thinking in the tele-immersive and peer-to-peer spaces and would bring new insights to the KOM research group, and to TU Darmstadt.”
The opportunity to collaborate internationally was, according to Nahrstedt, the most rewarding aspect of the Humboldt Research Award program.
“We can benefit greatly from hearing ideas from people across the world,” she said.
After her research visit as the Humboldt Research Awardee, she joined the Humboldt Foundation’s Research Award Selection Committee, helping to choose the next generation of Humboldt Research Awardees. Twice a year, the committee convenes to review applications that have already undergone rigorous peer evaluation. Only the most compelling proposals—those likely to advance German research—make it to the committee’s desk.
This Spring 2025, Nahrstedt traveled to Germany for her final meeting as a committee member.
“I’ve loved my time on this committee and the Foundation’s continued work to support researchers around the world, and advancing collaborative international research enterprise,” she said.
Affiliations within The Grainger College of Engineering
Klara Nahrstedt is the Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering and Swanlund Endowed Chair in the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science. She is also the director of the Coordinated Science Laboratory.