Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Sikora, 52, is director of the Communication Systems Lab at Technische Universität Berlin, Germany. Between 1994 and 2001 he was the director of the Interactive Media & Human Factors Department at Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) Berlin, Germany.
Prof. Sikora worked in leading roles in several research teams in Australia, USA and Germany on issues related to audio and 3D video processing. As the chairman of the ISO-MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) video group, he was responsible for the development and standardization of the MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and MPEG-7 video algorithms. Together with the ISO MPEG Group he received the Emmy Technology & Engineering Award of the US National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) in 1996 for outstanding achievement in technical or engineering development.
Prof. Sikora is co-founder of 2SK Media Technologies, Vis-a-Pix GmbH and imcube media GmbH, all Berlin-based start-up companies involved in research and development of audio and video signal processing and compression technology. He is chair of the supervisory board of Sikora AG and board member of EcoDisc Technology AG in Switzerland. Prof. Sikora frequently works as an industry consultant on issues related to interactive digital audio and video.