Esra Erdem

Esra Erdem is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Sabanci University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences. Her research focuses on the mathematical foundations of knowledge representation, automated reasoning, and answer set programming, with applications in bioinformatics, logistics, cognitive robotics, and economics. She has developed frameworks for hybrid planning, spatial-temporal reasoning, and multi-agent coordination using logic-based methods.

She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Sciences (2002) at the University of Texas at Austin under Vladimir Lifschitz. Her academic genealogy traces back to Nikolai Shanin, Pavel Aleksandrov, and Karl Weierstrass.

Her recent publications emphasize answer set programming for robotics, including collaborative assembly, path finding, and spatial reasoning. She applies these techniques to real-world challenges in cognitive factories and rehabilitation robotics. Erdem co-edited proceedings for KR 2021 and ICLP 2019 Technical Communications. She serves as an academic advisor and has contributed to educational tools like ReAct! for AI planning in robotics.