I am a computer scientist and professor of AI for Science at TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology and Hannover University, where I head the cross-institutional Nature-Inspired Machine Learning Research Group spanning Hannover, Leipzig, and Dresden.
My academic journey began at the University of Bonn, where I earned an M.Sc. in Computer Science with the Information Systems & Databases (IDB) Group, followed by a Ph.D. in the Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) Group. I then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Oxford in Vadalab, focusing on Logic-based Reasoning. Before joining TIB, I led a Knowledge-Driven AI group named Nature-Inspired Machine Learning Research at the Institute for Applied Informatics (InfAI) and then extended the group at the ScaDS.AI Dresden/Leipzig Center of Excellence, where i remain associate member. Today, the team continues through our cross-organizational research network.
For nearly a decade I have focused on learning and reasoning of AI methods with knowledge graphs in the center, applying AI for good in science, medicine, and environmental domains. This effort has produced 100-plus highly cited publications and foundational contributions to representation learning, neuro-symbolic reasoning, and large-scale foundation models.
Inspired by natural science and human cognition, my group studies how people solve complex problems such as puzzles and puzzles to design algorithms that will one day underpin safe, nature-inspired Artificial General Intelligence. Our current mission: equipping modern AI systems including large language models with transparent, robust reasoning that benefits life, humanity, and the environment.
Beyond research, I am deeply committed to fostering inclusive and equitable academic spaces. As one of the leads of the university’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, I actively support efforts to ensure broad representation of minorities, especially women/girls in tech. I also serve as General Chair of the SEMANTiCS Conference, a role I have held for several years to help shape the international conversation around knowledge technologies and AI.
