Three scientists at the MPI for Informatics share their perspectives.
Since its proclamation by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science has been celebrated each year on 11 February. The day highlights the contributions women make to scientific progress while also underscoring a central message: science and gender equality must advance together to tackle today’s major global challenges. In recognition of the occasion, we introduce three woman scientists from our institute.
Ada Görgün, Photo: MPI-INF/Philipp Zapf-Schramm
Ada Görgün: Equality strengthens science for the benefit of all
Computer science was not initially on Ada Görgün’s radar. Early on, she was primarily interested in mathematics and physics, which is why she first began a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara. Her interest in computer science was sparked when she encountered deep learning and computer vision during her undergraduate studies. “For the first time, I saw how coding can bring mathematics to life through images. It made everything feel much more intuitive, and once I realized I was good at it and enjoyed the work, I continued down this path,” she says, describing her “aha” moment at the time.
Since 2024 Ada Görgün has been conducting research as a PhD student at Saarland University and in the Computer Vision and Machine Learning department at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, working on explainable artificial intelligence. Her research is about how modern AI models—specifically systems for video and image generation—can be made more understandable and more controllable. Ada Görgün investigates the underlying mechanisms of their decision-making processes and how they can be influenced, with the aim of bridging the gap between technical capability and human trust.
What she especially values about her work is being in a field that constantly challenges her and repeatedly rewards her curiosity. A personal milestone was being admitted to her PhD program: “I vividly remember the sense of clarity that came with it, the realization that I had found exactly where I was meant to be,” she recalls.
For Ada Görgün, it is also clear that women in science are not “just” a matter of fairness. The presence of women in science is vital for ensuring that scientific progress reflects the needs and perspectives of society as a whole. Her advice to other early-career researchers is therefore: stick with it. „When the path feels challenging, remember that struggle is a sign of growth, not a lack of belonging, or failing.“
Hannaneh Akrami, Photo: MPI-INF/Philipp Zapf-Schramm
Hannaneh Akrami: Representation counteracts deep-seated biases
The beginnings of Hannaneh Akrami’s career in computer science were due to a fortunate coincidence. In high school, she was an enthusiastic mathematician and was preparing for the mathematics olympiad exam, which—if passed—would allow participation in a summer school. Because the tasks for the computer science counterpart heavily overlapped, she also took that exam. In the end, she did not pass the exam for the mathematics olympiad, —but she did pass the computer science one, which marked the starting point for her career.
At first, she had doubts. At the 2013 computer science olympiad, she was one of only two women among the 40 accepted students. “I did wonder whether I even belonged there. But twelve years later I know that I do!” she says.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering at Sharif University of Technology, Hannaneh Akrami was a doctoral researcher from 2019 to 2025 at Saarland University and in the “Algorithms and Complexity” department at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics. Here—after additionally being accepted into the Max Planck Society’s Minerva Fast Track Program in November 2025—she works on so-called “fair division” problems, that is, how to divide indivisible goods among different agents so that no one feels disadvantaged. What Hannaneh Akrami loves about her research is the tinkering: she likes riddles and theoretical computer science for her is basically riddle solving.
A moment that regularly shows her she has found the right path for herself is giving scientific talks. “After a successful talk I always feel good. There is something deeply rewarding about seeing an audience grasp a new idea and knowing I helped make that happen,” she says.
Hannaneh Akrami emphasizes that women drive scientific progress forward—like other scientists. But they also bring long-overlooked perspectives and their very presence helps balance biased views of gender roles. Her advice to young women scientists: „Follow what you love. And if that is computer science, even better, because the field needs your perspective.“
Hanna Komlós, Photo: MPI-INF/Philipp Zapf-Schramm
Hanna Komlós: Diversity strengthens community and collaboration
Hanna Komlós’s path into computer science was anything but linear. After a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics, she first worked in the insurance industry for several years. “Then came the point when I felt computer science is the perfect combination of the abstract mathematical thinking I love with problem solving that has practical impact,” she says.
She then completed another master’s degree in computer science at Rutgers University, earned her PhD at New York University (NYU), and afterwards did a research stay at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing.
Since 2026, she has been working as a Lise Meitner Postdoctoral Fellow in the “Algorithms and Complexity” department at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics. Her research focuses on the theory of data structures. She studies abstract structures that store and organize data, and the mathematical problems that underlie them. Her goal is to design algorithms that allow computers to find and update this data as efficiently as possible while solving interesting combinatorial questions along the way.
What she particularly appreciates about computer science is the community. “At first I did have concerns about coming into computer science as a ‘career changer.’ But I have found the community to be extremely open, supportive, and collaborative,” says Hanna Komlós. She emphasizes how important collaboration is to her: “Every time I’m at the whiteboard with colleagues discussing a difficult problem, I’m happy. I find it so extraordinarily fun, I think I must be in the right place.”
She is convinced that women in science are excellent collaborators who support and uplift other researchers, and make science more representative of the world we live in. Her advice to aspiring women scientists: keep going consistently on your own path and don’t let yourself be discouraged. “You’ve gotten yourself to where you are when the odds were not always stacked in your favor. And you will do it again. ”
Additional information:
Minerva Fast Track Programme: https://www.mpg.de/21667923/minerva-fast-track-programme
Lise Meitner Award Postdoctoral Fellowship: https://www.mpi-inf.mpg.de/career/job-openings/lise-meitner-award-fellowship
International Women and Girls in Science Day: https://www.un.org/en/observances/women-and-girls-in-science-day
Editor:
Philipp Zapf-Schramm
Max Planck Institute for Informatics
Phone: +49 681 9325 4509
Email: pzs@mpi-inf.mpg.de