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Earning a doctorate with applied research The applied research projects of Ina Neher and Stephan Wiefling offer approaches to solving social challenges
Vividly to the point: PhD student Stephan Wiefling visualises his research results
Solar-powered energy systems in West Africa
Pioneering research on password security
Ina Neher investigated the influence of the atmosphere on the operation and expansion of solar-powered energy systems for her doctoral project, completed in 2020, at the International Centre for Sustainable Development (IZNE). She looked at the influence of aerosols in the air, focusing on the region of West Africa – from the desert area in northern Niger to the southern coastal regions. The entire region is repeatedly struck by violent Sahara storms, causing solar energy production to collapse. Her research was based on meteorological data from 2006, which included a dust event lasting several days, and high-resolution satellite data from over 35 years of recording. “The energy yield is higher in the desert region, but more energy is needed on the populous coast. To secure the energy supply long term, the power grid should be expanded in a northsouth direction”, Neher recommends.
Stephan Wiefling also has recommendations. He is a doctoral student in the URIA project (Usability of Risk-based Implicit Authentication) in the NERD.NRW research training group as well as a member of the Data and Application Security (DAS) group led by Professor Luigi Lo Iacono at H-BRS. In the long term, small and medium enterprises are to benefit from his research on secure passwords. Their knowledge of the risk-based authentication (RBA) researched by Wiefling, i.e. asking for a second identification factor in the case of unusual log-in behaviour, cannot keep up with that of the tech giants. “The goal of my work is to increase the security of password authentication without increasing the effort required by users”, Wiefling explains. If every online service can use RBA, everyone is better protected. Wiefling studied the use of RBA in large online services for a good three years and researched its user-friendliness. Wiefling presents his research on complex RBA technology at major conferences and receives considerable recognition on the international scene. Bruce Schneier, a US expert on IT security, has even shared one of Wiefling’s studies on his blog.
