Kerstin Bach

Kerstin Bach is a Professor in Artificial Intelligence at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), where she serves as Director of the Norwegian Open AI Lab and Research Director of the Norwegian Research Center for AI Innovation (NorwAI). She also holds the position of Deputy Head of the Data and Artificial Intelligence group within NTNU's Department of Computer Science. Her leadership extends to multiple national AI initiatives that bridge industry and academia in Norway.

Dr. Bach earned her Dr. rer. nat. (summa cum laude) in Computer Science from the University of Hildesheim, Germany in 2012. Prior to joining NTNU in 2015, she worked as a researcher at the German Research Center for AI (DFKI) and as both a research scientist and software engineer at Verdande Technology, an AI startup developing case-based reasoning technology for various industries.

Her research focuses on developing AI methods that combine reasoning, context-awareness, and interpretability to support complex, knowledge-intensive decisions. She specializes in case-based reasoning, explainable AI, and human-AI interaction, with particular emphasis on healthcare applications. Her work explores how to build transparent AI systems that work across domains and are grounded in real-world use cases, especially in medical decision support and patient-centered care.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on applying AI to healthcare challenges, particularly musculoskeletal pain management through the selfBACK project. Her research spans human activity recognition, explainable AI methods, clinical decision support systems, and reinforcement learning applications. A consistent theme is the development of trustworthy AI systems that maintain interpretability while addressing complex healthcare problems.

Dr. Bach actively mentors students and has established FEMAIS, a mentorship program for aspiring female AI students. She serves on the boards of both the Norwegian AI Society and the German AI Society, demonstrating her commitment to advancing the field and promoting diversity in AI.

She leads multiple interdisciplinary projects funded by the Norwegian Research Council and NTNU, focusing on AI-driven healthcare services. Her leadership in the Norwegian Open AI Lab involves organizing events, giving talks, and participating in panels to discuss AI research with both professionals and the public.