Data is usually the heart of the IT infrastructure - not only in companies, but also in public authorities, research institutions, etc. This "treasure trove of data" needs to be managed efficiently. Information needs to be stored securely, retrieved when required, processed or analyzed. This need is becoming increasingly clear in the age of artificial intelligence and data analysis.

In the Databases and Information Systems Group, we deal with the efficient implementation of database systems. In particular, we investigate how the properties of modern computer hardware can be exploited in a targeted manner, for example to increase throughput, reduce costs, or save energy.

In doing so, we are looking at different types of modern computer hardware. Jens Teubner's work on the use of programmable hardware components(field-programmable gate arrays, FPGAs) to accelerate database tasks (when still at ETH Zurich and in the context of the Avalanche research project) was groundbreaking. More recently, we have been able to show how graphicsprocessing units (GPUs) can be used for efficient data processing. However, we also deal with the challenges posed by the further development of "standard hardware", for example with regard to cache efficiency, multi-core architectures or modern memory technologies (such as non-uniform memory access, NUMA or non-volatile memory, NVM).

We regularly present our work at international conferences on database technology, such as the VLDB(Int'l Conference on Very Large Data Bases), SIGMOD (Int'l SIGMOD Conference on Management of Data) or the DaMoN Workshop (Workshop on Databases on New Hardware). We are also at home at the German BTW conference (Conf. on Database Systems for Business, Technology and Web).

Our work is practically oriented. We strive to ensure that our ideas can be used in practice and advance business and industry. We achieve this with prototypes, proof-of-concept developments, but also in cooperation with industry partners.