Martin Hepp

Martin Hepp is Professor of Web Science and Digitalization at the Universität der Bundeswehr Munich, where he leads the E-Business and Web Science Research Group. He is also CEO and Chief Scientist of Hepp Research GmbH, a consultancy firm specializing in semantic technologies, GoodRelations, and schema.org. He has held academic positions at the University of Innsbruck, Florida Gulf Mexico University, and DERI Innsbruck, and has been a visiting scientist at IBM Research and Boston University.

Education:

• Habilitation in Information Systems, University of Würzburg, 2005–2008
• PhD in Management Information Systems, University of Würzburg, 2000–2003 (Summa Cum Laude)
• Diplom-Kaufmann (M.B.A.), Business Administration and Management, University of Würzburg, 1997–1999
• Vordiplom, Business Administration and Management, University of Würzburg, 1994–1997

His research centers on shared data structures at web scale, particularly ontology engineering and semantic interoperability in e-commerce. He is best known for creating GoodRelations, an OWL DL ontology for e-commerce that became the official e-commerce core of schema.org in November 2012. His other major projects include the Product Types Ontology, OPDM (Ontology-based Product Data Management), and the Automotive Ontology Working Group. He has developed methodologies such as GenTax for deriving ontologies from taxonomies and advocates for community-driven ontology development.

His recent publications explore foundational issues in ontology design and the future of web communication, reflecting a blend of technical innovation and philosophical inquiry. These works highlight trends in semantic technologies, particularly their application in real-world business systems and ethical dimensions of digital interaction.

Scientific Awards:

• Linked Data-a-thon Award (4th prize), ISWC 2009
• ACM Senior Member (2009)
• 2nd place, FIT-IT Research Proposal Award (2007)
• Dissertation Award, Alcatel SEL Foundation (2004)
• Dissertation Award, Unterfränkische Gedenkjahrstiftung (2004)
• Summa cum laude, University of Würzburg (2003)

Prof. Hepp has supervised numerous research projects funded by the European Commission, BMBF, FFG/BMVIT, and others, including MUSING, SUPER, myOntology, and OPDM. He has been an active member of over 60 conference program committees, including ISWC, ESWC, WWW, and ECIS, and has chaired workshops and tracks on semantic web topics. He serves or has served on editorial boards of journals such as the International Journal on Semantic Web and Information Systems (IJSWIS).

He leads several research labs and teams, including the E-Business and Web Science Research Group at Universität der Bundeswehr Munich, and has contributed to open-source projects such as SKOS2GenTax, myClassify, and eClassOWL. His work bridges academic research and industry application through Hepp Research GmbH and collaborative initiatives like the Automotive Ontology Working Group.