Thorsten O. Zander

Thorsten O. Zander (born 1975 in Lüdenscheid, Germany) is a German scientist who introduced the concept of passive brain-computer interface. He co-founded Zander Labs, a German-Dutch company in the field of passive brain computer interface (pBCI) and neuro-adaptive technology (NAT). Zander attended the University of Münster from 1998 to 2004 where he graduated in mathematics, with focus on mathematical logic. During his studies, he worked for the university's office supporting visually impaired users and at the Fraunhofer Institute First in Berlin. In 2011 he obtained his PhD from the chair of Human-Maschine Systems at Technical University of Berlin, supervised by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Roetting and Dr. Scott Makeig (Director of the SCCN at UCSD). During his studies at University of Münster Zander became interested in interdisciplinary sciences and started working on concepts related to human and artificial intelligence. His work in the Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) field started during his collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute First, where he was involved in research connected to applications meant to enable disabled people to communicate with the outside world. He then went on to obtain his PhD from the Technical University of Berlin and started a workgroup called “Team PhyPA” (Physiological Parameters for Adaptation of Human‐Machine Systems), which is still functioning today. In 2008, together with this group, he developed the concept of passive brain-computer interfaces (pBCIs) that refers to the use of BCIs to improve human-computer interaction by assessing information about the user state. This approach is different compared to traditional BCIs, as no explicit commands are involved and thus, no additional effort is expected from the user. Due to his work on passive BCIs, Zander gained international recognition within the scientific community and the media. He founded the Community for Passive BCI Research group, that then transitioned into the Society for Neuroadaptive Technology that Zander co-leads with Prof.