CV

For publications, teaching experience, and outreach activities, see menu points above.

This CV — both the version shown here and the downloadable PDF — is automatically generated from the content of this website and rebuilt whenever new work is added.

Contact Information

Name Vito Mengers
Professional Title PhD Student in Robotics & Interdisciplinary Intelligence Research
Email v.mengers@tu-berlin.de

Professional Summary

My research centers on interconnected recursive estimators—systems that continuously refine internal models based on sensory input. Initially explored for robust robotic perception, I demonstrated that these estimators can also drive action selection through gradient descent. This tight coupling of perception and action lets intelligent agents both react adaptively to environmental changes and actively probe their surroundings to improve perception. Beyond robotics, I study these systems as a model for biological behavior, showing that the same architecture can capture processes such as human visual attention (e.g., scanpath generation in natural videos) and collective behavior. The resulting systems are rich, robust, and explainable, offering insight into the interactions between recursive modules—both as computational tools and as models of cognitive mechanisms.

Experience

  • 2021 -

    Berlin, Germany

    Research Assistant
    Robotics and Biology Lab (Oliver Brock) -- TU Berlin
    Developing computational models of intelligent behavior for robots. Furthermore, involved in teaching of multiple masters-level courses on robotics.
  • 2021 -

    Berlin, Germany

    PhD Student Member
    Research Cluster "Science of Intelligence"
    Developing computational models of intelligent behavior in biology. Furthermore, involved in organization of multiple interdisciplinary projects, events, as well as being part in the ethics committee of the cluster.

Education

  • 2021 -

    Berlin, Germany

    PhD
    TU Berlin / Science of Intelligence
    Robotics & Interdisciplinary Intelligence Research
  • 2018 - 2021

    Berlin, Germany

    M.Sc.
    TU Berlin
    Computer Engineering
    • Grade – 1.1 (ECTS Rank A)
    • Honors – One of the best graduates of the year
  • 2015 - 2019

    Berlin, Germany

    B.Sc.
    TU Berlin
    Computer Engineering
    • Grade – 1.3 (ECTS Rank A)
    • Honors – One of the best graduates of the year

Awards and Scholarships

  • 2025
    IEEE ICRA Best Paper Award on Planning and Control
    Finalist for Best Paper (Overall), Best Student Paper, and Best Paper on Robot Learning.
    Vito Mengers & Oliver Brock, No Plan but Everything under Control - Robustly Solving Sequential Tasks with Dynamically Composed Gradient Descent

    “For challenging the planning paradigm by introducing a feedback-driven method that solves sequential tasks through continuous adaptation.”

  • 2018
    Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes Scholarship (4 years)
    Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German Academic Scholarship Foundation)

    Prestigious German national scholarship awarded to highly talented students demonstrating exceptional academic achievement and societal commitment.

  • 2016
    Deutschlandstipendium Scholarship (2 years)
    Deutschlandstipendium (awarded by TU Berlin, financed by the German Federal Government, Siemens, and CARIAD)

    Merit-based scholarship awarded for excellent academic performance and potential, funded jointly by the German Federal Government and private industry partners.

Academic Service