Thomas Eiter is a Professor at TU Wien's Institute of Logic and Computation. His research focuses on declarative programming paradigms, knowledge representation, and artificial intelligence. He leads projects in neurosymbolic systems, answer set programming (ASP), and stream reasoning, with applications in visual question answering, scheduling optimization, and semantic scene generation. Eiter has contributed to foundational work in ASP semantics, computational complexity, and hybrid reasoning frameworks. His work bridges logical formalisms with practical AI challenges, emphasizing explainability and scalability. Projects like ALASPO and neurosymbolic integration showcase his focus on advancing both theoretical and applied aspects of AI. Projects: HumanE AI Network, WASP, REWERSE Research Themes: Neurosymbolic AI, Answer Set Programming, Stream Reasoning Notable achievements include pioneering work on semiring-based reasoning frameworks and developing efficient ASP solvers like Alpha. His contributions span over 471 publications, emphasizing interdisciplinary applications in computer vision, robotics, and automated planning.
Marion Mittmannsgruber M.Sc. is a researcher at the Institute of Zoology within the Department of Ecosystem Management, Climate and Biodiversity at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU). She is actively engaged in soil ecology research with a specialized focus on earthworm biology and biodiversity monitoring. Her work addresses critical issues related to soil health, agricultural land use impacts, and environmental stressors affecting soil ecosystems. Her primary research interests center on soil ecology, earthworm biology, biodiversity monitoring, and the impacts of agricultural practices on soil ecosystems. Mittmannsgruber's work demonstrates strong interdisciplinary connections between soil science, ecology, and agricultural management, with particular attention to how human activities influence soil biodiversity and ecosystem services. Mittmannsgruber's publication record reveals a clear trend toward understanding the complex relationships between earthworm populations and their environment. Her research spans agricultural lands, alpine pastures, and examines both natural and anthropogenic factors affecting soil biodiversity. Notably, she has conducted significant research on the effects of artificial light at night on earthworm behavior and ecosystem functioning, representing an innovative approach to understanding emerging environmental stressors. Mittmannsgruber has received research funding from both national and European sources, including projects funded by the European Commission and national companies. Her current projects include 'Soil biodiversity monitoring on the existing BINATS and ÖBM areas and compilation of a red list for earthworms in Austria - BodenBiodiv' (2024-2025) and 'Modelling and mapping soil biodiversity patterns and functions across Europe' (2023-2025). Active participant in knowledge transfer to society through publications in agricultural journals Regularly presents research at major scientific conferences including EGU General Assembly Featured in multiple media outlets discussing soil biodiversity and earthworm conservation Her work bridges scientific research and practical applications for sustainable agriculture and soil conservation, with particular emphasis on citizen science approaches for monitoring soil biodiversity across different landscapes in Austria and Europe.
