Hi, I'm Sebastian!

I'm an PhD student at MIT in Mechanical Engineering, advised by Neil Thompson. My research is dedicated to advancing general-purpose robotics and investigating the role of scaling laws in embodied AI. Inspired by breakthroughs in robot foundation models, I believe we are approaching a tangible reality where versatile robotic assistants can play an integral role in human life. Ironically, while pursuing my PhD, I’m also contributing to AI systems research that may reach PhD-level intelligence before I even graduate - essentially creating systems that surpass my own capabilities. Even more strangely, as researchers, we’re not just developing AI that can automate coding or engineering tasks but also systems that innovate, write papers, and may one day render PhD research obsolete.  For more details, please visit the research page.

Previously, I was one of the doctoral students of the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) management team, finished my Masters in Management & Technology at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), spend a semester abroad at UC Berkeley and supported innovation and entrepreneurship education at UnternehmerTUM. During my Masters, I also published two peer-reviewed papers, two preprints, contributed to a book and supervised two published reports and two master thesis. I completed my Bachelor studies in Mechnical Engineering and Business Administration at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. During that time I co-founded and led a team building an autonomous system for an electric race car competing at Formula Student competitions.

If you catch me outside of work, I’m an adventurous traveler (42 countries and counting), a casual Volleyball player and Cyclist (yes, I got three bicycles, worked once as bike mechanic too) and a passionate skier (yep, have been an instructor too). I also like to meet friends for a game night, cooking sessions, going out or full day trips to nearby lakes and mountains. I'm always on the hunt for new experiences and hobbies (e.g. background movie acting, diving, water skiing, indoor skydiving/ wind tunnel flying, analog photography, DNA analysis, windsurfing, …) and I love preparing surprises based on insiders and making ambitious bets (e.g. I need to cycle from Boston to SF until 2025). Besides that, I love to talk about almost everything but among my favorite topics are traveling, personal development (yes, I love deep talk and philosophical questions), Startups, and my research of course (or anything technology innovation related).

You can find more about my professional background on LinkedIn, my publications on Google Scholar and travel pictures on Instagram. You can contact me either via LinkedIn or email. I barely miss to answer any message and try to respond quickly 😊