Christoph Koch is a Full Professor in the School of Computer and Communication Sciences at EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) , Switzerland. He has held academic positions at Cornell University (2007-2010, 2006), Saarland University (2005-2007), and TU Vienna (2001-2005). His research focuses on database systems, logic, programming languages, and data management.
Katja Hose is a Full Professor of Data Management at TU Wien's DBAI research unit, heading the Data Management and Knowledge-Driven AI Lab. She previously held a Poul Due Jensen Foundation Professorship at Aalborg University. Her research focuses on data and knowledge engineering, including graph databases, knowledge graphs, querying, analytics, and machine learning, with interdisciplinary applications in bioscience, healthcare, and environmental assessment. Education: PhD in Computer Science (Ilmenau University of Technology, 2009), Postdoc at Max Planck Institute for Informatics (2009–2012). Academic roles include Program Co-Chair for ISWC 2024 and EDBT 2023, and editorial board membership at VLDBJ and TGDK. She leads projects like TARGET (health virtual twins) and ARMADA (data management). Research Interests: Knowledge Graphs, Semantic Web, Big Data, Machine Learning, Data Integration, and Provenance Systems. Key contributions include SHACL shape extraction, conversational data analytics, and environmental knowledge graphs. Awards include the 2025 Distinguished Meta-Reviewer Award and 2024 Manfred Paul Award. Advising and Grants: Supervised students including E. Pürmayr (Diploma Thesis 2025). Active in EU projects (TARGET, ARMADA) and grant coordination. Labs/Teams: DMKI Lab at TU Wien, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams in healthcare and environmental science.
Ian Horrocks is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Oriel College. His research focuses on knowledge representation, description logics, automated reasoning, and semantic web technologies. He has held academic positions at the University of Manchester (2003–2007) and served as Chief Scientist at Cerebra Inc. (2001–2006). Horrocks earned his BSc (1st class), MSc, and PhD in Computer Science from the University of Manchester (1981–1997). His work includes foundational contributions to ontology languages (e.g., OWL) and reasoning systems such as HermiT and ELK. He has supervised over twenty doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers. His honors include Fellowships from the Royal Society (2011), ECCAI (2009), and the British Computer Society (2005). He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Transactions on Graph Data and Knowledge and leads initiatives in semantic web standards and knowledge graph applications. Key Roles: Editor-in-Chief (Journal of Web Semantics), Co-Chair (W3C OWL Working Group) Grants: EPSRC Senior Research Fellowship (2005), numerous international collaborations Labs: Oxford Semantic Technologies, involvement in projects like RDFox and PAGOdA
Emanuel Sallinger is a Full Professor at TU Wien's Databases and Artificial Intelligence Group and Vice Dean of Academic Affairs for Business Informatics and Data Science. He leads the Knowledge Graph Lab, focusing on scalable knowledge-based systems, reasoning in knowledge graphs, and AI integration. His research spans computational logic, database theory, and blockchain applications. Education: PhD in Computer Science (awarded 'sub auspiciis praesidentis rei publicae'), Master's degrees in Computational Intelligence and Informatics Management, and a Bachelor's in Software and Information Engineering. Research Interests: Knowledge graphs (construction, reasoning, scalability), logic-based systems, AI/ML integration with databases, enterprise architecture modeling, and financial knowledge systems. His work emphasizes practical applications like enterprise modeling, sustainable waste management, and regulatory compliance. Grants & Projects: Lead Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF)-funded Knowledge Graph Lab. Involved in projects like 'Knowledge Graph-driven Tour Management' (sustainability), 'SustainGraph' (waste processing), and 'Enterprise Architecture Knowledge Graphs'. Teaching: Offers courses on Knowledge Graphs, Generative AI, Database Systems, and research methodology. Supervises doctoral and master's students in AI, databases, and knowledge representation. Labs/Teams: Knowledge Graph Lab at TU Wien, collaborating with industry on blockchain-based systems, financial AI, and enterprise architecture frameworks.
Victor Vianu is a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego and holds the INRIA International Chair at INRIA-Saclay in Paris. He has maintained continuous faculty status at UC San Diego since 1983 while developing extensive international collaborations, particularly with French research institutions including INRIA, ENST-Paris, ENS-Paris, and the University of Paris. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Southern California (1983) and undergraduate studies in Mathematics and Informatics at the University of Bucharest (1974-1977). Professor Vianu's research spans computational logic, database systems and theory, and automatic verification. His work uniquely bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in XML processing, workflow systems, and data-driven applications. He has made seminal contributions to understanding the theoretical underpinnings of database query languages and their expressive power, particularly in the context of XML technologies and workflow systems. His research demonstrates a consistent trajectory from theoretical computer science to practical database systems applications. His publication record reveals significant contributions to database theory spanning over three decades, with particular emphasis on XML technologies, workflow systems, and formal methods for data-driven applications. His work shows a clear evolution from foundational theoretical work to practical applications in business processes and web technologies. INRIA International Chair (2013) Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2013) ACM PODS Alberto O. Mendelzon Test-of-Time Award (2010) Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) (2006) Professor Vianu has held significant leadership roles including Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious Journal of the ACM, numerous program committee chair positions for major database conferences (PODS, ICDT, ASIAN), and General Chair for ACM SIGMOD conferences. He has served on the executive committees of SIGMOD (1998-2000) and PODS (1993-2004), and was a member of the ICDT Council (1997-2007), demonstrating sustained influence in the theoretical database community. His extensive invited talks at major conferences including College de France, ACM PODS, and International Conference on Database Theory highlight his international recognition.
Andreas Rauber is an Associate Professor in the Department of Data Science at Technical University of Vienna. He serves as Curriculum Coordinator for Bachelor and Master programs in Business Informatics and Data Science, and chairs the Curriculum Commission for Business Informatics. His research focuses on Information Systems Engineering, Logic and Computation, and Visual Computing, addressing challenges in data management, digital preservation, and reproducibility in e-science. He leads projects like OS Trails and FAIR-AI, emphasizing FAIR principles and trustworthy research infrastructures. Rauber has contributed to over 150 publications, including works on data citation frameworks, adversarial ML defenses, and reproducibility in IR. His work bridges technical innovation with policy, exemplified through roles in the EOSC Support Office Austria and RDA Austria initiatives. Key projects include establishing FAIR data practices across universities and advancing digital preservation through repositories like DBRepo. He coordinates international collaborations, such as the EU-funded EOSC-Life and EGI Advanced Computing projects. His teaching spans courses in machine learning, information retrieval, and research methods, fostering next-generation data scientists.
Dietmar Jannach is a Full Professor at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria, affiliated with the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity where he leads the Research Group for Information Systems. His academic roles include membership in the university's Senate and Curricular Commissions for Liberal Arts and Information Management. His research spans: Core Areas : Artificial Intelligence, Recommender Systems, and Software Engineering. Methodological Focus : Algorithm reproducibility, fairness in AI, sequential recommendations, and hybrid learning models. Emerging Interests : Generative AI for group decision support, ethical recommender systems, and foundation model applications. Jannach's recent publications critically evaluate reproducibility challenges in AI research, advocate for calibrated recommendations to mitigate bias, and explore agentic paradigms in group recommender systems. He emphasizes real-world validation, with studies on deployment challenges and developer experiences in software processes. He actively contributes to academic governance and mentors through research groups, though specific student advisees are not listed. Contact via Dietmar.Jannach@aau.at .
Fajar Juang Ekaputra is a Tenure Track Assistant Professor at the Institute of Data, Process, and Knowledge Management (DPKM), WU Vienna and a part-time Postdoctoral Researcher at the Data Science research unit, TU Wien . With a focus on Semantic Web , Knowledge Graphs , and their integration with Machine Learning in Neurosymbolic AI systems, his work spans domains like Cyber-Physical Systems and Materials Engineering . Education: Dr.techn. (2018), TU Wien M.T. (2010) and S.T. (2008), Institute Teknologi Bandung (ITB) Research Interests center on hybrid AI systems combining Semantic Web and Machine Learning , with applications in Cyber-Physical Systems (e.g., smart grids, smart buildings), data privacy in smart cities, and materials engineering . His 102+ publications include frameworks like SWeMLS-KG and SHACL4Protege . Recent Articles (2024) address explainable AI in cyber-physical systems, privacy trust in data infrastructures, and neurosymbolic frameworks . Earlier works (2023–2022) explore ontology-based data management , auditable AI , and hybrid system architectures . Scientific Awards: Best Paper Awards (ICoDSE 2023, ICoDSE 2016) Best Poster Nomination (SEMANTiCS 2019) PhD Scholarship (Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation, 2012) Advising includes supervising PhD students (e.g., Majlinda Llugiqi, Katrin Schreiberhuber) and master’s theses on topics like knowledge graph characteristics and data quality assessment . He leads projects such as FAIR-AI (FFG-funded, 2024–2026) and SENSE (Horizon Europe, 2023–2025).
Axel Polleres is a full professor at the Institute for Data, Process and Knowledge Management in Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Wien). He leads the department of Information Systems and Operations Management while maintaining active research in knowledge graphs, semantic web technologies, and ontology engineering. PhD and Habilitation from Vienna University of Technology Former positions at University of Innsbruck, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, DERI Ireland, and Siemens AG Co-chair of W3C SPARQL working group Editorial board member for Semantic Web Journal and IJSWIS His research focuses on: Querying and reasoning over ontologies Graph schema languages (SHACL, SPARQL) Wikidata constraint formalization Ontology reuse in collaborative platforms Crisis management knowledge graphs FAIR data principles implementation Recent publications analyze knowledge graph evolution, constraint validation methodologies, and semantic web standardization efforts. Key topics include: OWL/RDF interoperability solutions Unit conversion systems for Wikidata Partition-based query processing frameworks Network resilience analysis for urban planning Open data platform discovery tools Temporal analysis of collaborative knowledge graphs He has co-organized major conferences like ISWC2023 and ESWC workshops while maintaining active roles in European research projects. Current work involves spatiotemporal knowledge graphs for city resilience and semantic web infrastructure development.
Wolfgang Nejdl is a Full Professor of Computer Science at Leibniz Universität Hannover since 1995 and the Head of the L3S Research Center since 2001. His research focuses on Web Science, search and information retrieval, semantic web technologies, peer-to-peer infrastructures, databases, technology-enhanced learning, and artificial intelligence. Education: M.Sc. (1984) and Ph.D. (1988) in Computer Science from Vienna University of Technology. Previous Positions: Assistant Professor in Vienna (1988–1992), Associate Professor at RWTH Aachen (1992–1995), and visiting professor/researcher at Xerox PARC, Stanford, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, EPFL Lausanne, and PUC Rio. His research spans foundational and applied Web technologies, including social networks, trust and reputation, Web infrastructure, digital libraries, semantic web, collaborative filtering, and privacy-preserving systems. Recent projects like PHAROS, OKKAM, LiWA, and LivingKnowledge highlight his work in audio-visual search, web entities, web archive management, and diversity bias algorithms. Wolfgang Nejdl published over 230 scientific articles and held leadership roles as General Chair for AH'08 and PC Chair for WWW'09. He co-founded iSearch IT Solutions in 2006 to commercialize digital library and web engineering research from L3S projects. Scientific Awards: Founding member and head of the L3S Research Center The L3S Research Center, with a 2009 budget of €6 million (75% third-party funding), focuses on connecting the Web to real-world entities through research in Web Science, service computing, and security. Funding comes equally from the European Union and national/industry sources.
Beng Chin Ooi is a Lee Kong Chian Centennial Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS), School of Computing. He has been with NUS since 1991, progressing through the ranks from Lecturer to his current distinguished position. He previously served as Dean of the School of Computing from 2007 to 2013 and as Director of the Smart Systems Institute from 2011 to 2021. His educational background includes: 1985: B.Sc. (1st Class Honors) from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia 1989: Ph.D. in Computer Science from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia Beng Chin Ooi's research focuses on database systems, large scale analytics, and distributed systems. His work has been instrumental in advancing the field of data management technology, particularly in the context of "big data" in large-scale parallel and distributed systems. He has made significant contributions to spatio-temporal and distributed data management, as well as pioneering research in distributed database management and peer-to-peer based enterprise quality management. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on blockchain technology, machine learning systems, and healthcare informatics. There's a clear progression from foundational database research to applications in emerging technologies like blockchain and AI. His work bridges theoretical advances with practical system implementations, as evidenced by multiple open-source projects associated with his publications. His notable awards include: 2021: NUS Research Recognition Award 2020: ACM SIGMOD E.F. Codd Innovations Award 2020: ACM SIGMOD Research Highlight Award 2019: VLDB Best Paper Award 2016: Fellow of Singapore National Academy of Science 2016: China Computer Federation Overseas Outstanding Contributions Award 2014: VLDB Best Paper Award 2014: IEEE TCDE CSEE Impact Award 2013: Singapore National Day's Public Administration Medal (Silver) 2013: NUS Outstanding Researcher Award 2012: IEEE Computer Society Kanai Award 2011: ACM Fellow 2011: Singapore President's Science Award 2009: IEEE Fellow 2009: ACM SIGMOD Contributions Award Throughout his career, Professor Ooi has demonstrated exceptional leadership in the database community, promoting high standards of database research at both international and regional levels. His BLOCKBENCH framework became the world's first benchmarking tool for private blockchains, and his work on data provenance on blockchain systems earned both the VLDB Best Paper Award and the ACM Research Highlight Award. He has led several major research initiatives, including the Smart Systems Institute at NUS. Professor Ooi has established multiple open-source projects including FabricSharp for blockchain data provenance and Cool for cohort online analytical processing. His research group has consistently produced high-impact work that bridges theoretical advances with practical system implementations.
Professor Wenfei Fan is a Chair of Web Data Management at the University of Edinburgh since 2006. He holds adjunct roles at Huawei Edinburgh Research Laboratory and the International Research Center on Big Data at Beihang University. His research focuses on database systems, theory, big data, data quality, and constraint applications. He is a Fellow of the ACM and Royal Society of Edinburgh, and recipient of the ERC Advanced Grant (2015). His work includes foundational contributions to XML constraints, data quality management, and graph databases, with over 160 top-tier publications and 8 patents. Education: BSc and MSc from Peking University (1985, 1988); PhD from the University of Pennsylvania (1999). Professional Roles: Editor for TODS, TCS, VLDBJ, and TBD; PC Chair for PODS, CIKM, APWeb, and others. Key awards include the Roger Needham Award (2008), Yangtze River Scholar (2007), and multiple best paper awards at SIGMOD, PODS, VLDB, and ICDE. He has led over 15 grants totaling €6M and advised students who all received top conference awards. His labs and initiatives drive industry collaboration, with deployed solutions at Huawei for big data query optimization.
Tomasz Miksa is a researcher affiliated with TU Wien's Department of Research Data Management, focusing on machine-actionable data management plans (maDMPs), semantic web technologies, and data reproducibility. He collaborates extensively on projects involving automated assessment of data management workflows, FAIR data implementation, and privacy-preserving analysis platforms. Primary affiliation: TU Wien Department: Research Data Management Key projects: WellFort, FAIR Data Austria, openEO API His research integrates semantic technologies with data governance to enhance reproducibility in scientific workflows, particularly in domains like environmental monitoring and legal informatics. Recent publications emphasize ontological frameworks (DCSO), API harmonization, and auditable machine learning systems. Notable collaborative works include: Reproducibility standards for soil moisture data Knowledge graph applications in cyber-physical energy systems Dynamic data citation mechanisms He supervises students in theses related to maDMP integration, data citation frameworks, and institutional research data planning architectures.
Leonid Libkin is a Professor and Chair of Foundations of Data Management at the University of Edinburgh , affiliated with the School of Informatics and the Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science (LFCS) . Since 2006, he has been leading research and teaching in data management, database theory, and logic in computer science. Education and Career: 2006–present: Professor and Chair of Foundations of Data Management, University of Edinburgh 2004–2006: Full Professor, University of Toronto 2001–2004: Associate Professor, University of Toronto 1999–2000: Visiting Researcher, INRIA-Rocquencourt 1994–2001: Member of Research Staff, Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill Research Interests: Libkin's research spans databases, logic in computer science, and finite model theory. His work includes query languages for relational and graph databases, data integration, constraints, incomplete data, automata theory, and applications of logic in computer science. He has also contributed to lattice theory and programming semantics. Awards and Honors: Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award (2016) Member of Academia Europaea (2015) Fellow of the ACM (2012) Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (2012) Marie Curie Chair, EU FP6 (2006) Premier's Research Excellence Award, Ontario (2001) Five best paper awards from top-tier conferences (KR, ICDT, PODS) Books and Publications: Libkin is the author of several influential books including Elements of Finite Model Theory , Principles of Databases , and others on database theory and logic. His extensive publication record includes foundational papers in database theory and logic in computer science.
Shqiponja Ahmetaj is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Knowledge-Based Systems at the Faculty of Informatics, TU Wien. She specializes in semantic web technologies, knowledge representation, and graph data management. Her research focuses on SHACL validation, ontology integration, and formal methods for constraint satisfaction in graph databases. Education: PhD in Computer Science, TU Wien (2019): 'Rewriting approaches for ontology-mediated query answering.' MSc in Computer Science, TU Wien (2013): 'Planning in graph databases under description logic constraints.' Roles: Course instructor for 'Introduction to Artificial Intelligence,' 'Knowledge-based Systems,' and 'Semantic Technologies.' Principal investigator in projects like FRESH (2021–2026) and SEE (2012–2016). Research Interests: Her work addresses challenges in semantic web validation, ontology semantics, and graph data evolution. She develops formal methods for SHACL constraint validation, explanation generation for non-validation, and repair algorithms. Her contributions bridge the gap between semantic web standards and practical database systems. Her recent publications focus on SHACL validation of evolving graphs , ontology-ontology interoperability , and consistent query answering under constraints . Projects like FRESH emphasize theoretical and applied aspects of SHACL in knowledge graphs. Grants & Projects: FRESH (FWF, 2021–2026): 'Shapes in Graph Data: Theory and Implementation.' SEE (WWTF, 2012–2016): 'SPARQL Evaluation and Extensions.' Advising: Supervised theses such as 'SHACL validation of evolving RDF graphs' (2023) and 'A metaheuristic approach to crowdsourced package delivery' (2023). Labs/Teams: Active in TU Wien's research groups on semantic technologies and knowledge representation, collaborating with international institutions on projects like OMEGA and KtoAPP.