Stefan Borgwardt

Stefan Borgwardt is a Researcher and Teaching Associate at the Chair of Automata Theory, Faculty of Computer Science, Technische Universität Dresden, working under Prof. Franz Baader. He leads key research projects such as Practical Planning with Ontologies (PPO) and contributes to the Center for Perspicuous Computing (CPEC), funded by DFG and SNF. His work bridges theoretical logic and practical AI systems.

Research Interests:

• Knowledge Representation and Reasoning
• Description Logics and Ontology-Mediated Query Answering
• Explainable AI and Proof Visualization (Evee/ Evonne systems)
• Temporal, Fuzzy, and Probabilistic Logics
• Automated Planning with Ontologies
• Logic-Guided Natural Language Generation

His recent publications (2021–2025) show a strong trend toward explainability in logical reasoning, with a focus on modular, interactive, and user-friendly proof systems. He investigates reasoning complexity in expressive description logics and develops practical tools for ontology explanation and planning. His work often combines symbolic AI with real-world applications such as sensor data interpretation and autonomous systems.

Scientific Awards:

• Harold Boley Distinguished Paper Award (RuleML+RR'23)
• Best Paper Award (RuleML+RR'22, JELIA'19, AI'15)
• Quality Champion for ECAI'23 reviewing
• Commerzbank Award for PhD thesis (2014)
• Distinguished Student Paper Awards (DL'14, DL'13)
• N. J. Lehmann Award (2011)

Stefan Borgwardt actively advises and collaborates with students and early-career researchers on projects involving explanation, planning, and reasoning. He has secured competitive funding through DFG and SNF grants and plays a leadership role in the KR community as PC co-chair, senior PC member, and steering committee member for major conferences like DL, KR, and JELIA. He is also a reviewer for top-tier journals including Artificial Intelligence and Journal of the ACM.

Labs and Teams: He is a core member of the Chair of Automata Theory at TU Dresden and contributes to the Center for Perspicuous Computing (CPEC), where he works on projects A3 (Description Logic Explications) and E2 (Safe Handover in Mixed-Initiative Control) in collaboration with Vera Demberg and Antonio Krüger.