Frank van Harmelen
Encyclopedia
Frank van Harmelen is a Dutch Computer Scientist
and Professor
in Knowledge Representation & Reasoning in the AI
department at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Currently he is scientific director of the LarKC project, "aiming to develop the Large Knowledge Collider, a platform for very large scale semantic web
reasoning.
, where he was awarded a PhD in 1989 for his research on meta-level reasoning. While in Edinburgh, he "co-developed a logic-based toolkit for expert systems, and worked with Prof. Alan Bundy
on proof planning for inductive theorem proving".
After his PhD research, he moved back to Amsterdam
where he worked from 1990 to 1995 in the SWI Department under Prof. Bob Wielinga
, on the use of reflection in expert systems, on the formal underpinnings of the CommonKADS methodology for Knowledge-Based Systems. In 1995 he joined the AI research group at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where he co-lead the On-To-Knowledge project, on of the first Semantic Web projects. He was appointed full professor in 2002, and is leading the Knowledge Representation and Reasoning Group. Currently he is scientific director the LarKC project aiming to develop the Large Knowledge Collider, a platform for very large scale semantic web
reasoning.
, knowledge representation
and the semantic web
, approximate reasoning and Medical Protocols. He was one of the co-designers of the Web Ontology Language
(OWL) and the Ontology Inference Layer
(OIL), and has published books on meta-level inference, on knowledge-based systems, and on the Semantic Web.
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
and Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
in Knowledge Representation & Reasoning in the AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
department at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Currently he is scientific director of the LarKC project, "aiming to develop the Large Knowledge Collider, a platform for very large scale semantic web
Semantic Web
The Semantic Web is a collaborative movement led by the World Wide Web Consortium that promotes common formats for data on the World Wide Web. By encouraging the inclusion of semantic content in web pages, the Semantic Web aims at converting the current web of unstructured documents into a "web of...
reasoning.
Biography
After studying mathematics and computer science in Amsterdam, Frank van Harmelen moved to the Department of AI of the University of EdinburghUniversity of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, where he was awarded a PhD in 1989 for his research on meta-level reasoning. While in Edinburgh, he "co-developed a logic-based toolkit for expert systems, and worked with Prof. Alan Bundy
Alan Bundy
Alan Bundy, FRSE, FBCS, FAAAI, FECCAI, FAISB, is a professor at the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, known for his contributions to automated reasoning, especially to proof-planning, the use of meta-level reasoning to guide proof search....
on proof planning for inductive theorem proving".
After his PhD research, he moved back to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
where he worked from 1990 to 1995 in the SWI Department under Prof. Bob Wielinga
Bob Wielinga
Bob J. Wielinga is a Dutch professor at the University of Amsterdam. He has performed research on the methodology of knowledge-based system design and knowledge acquisition. In 1986, Wielinga was appointed full professor of Social Science Informatics in the Faculty of Psychology...
, on the use of reflection in expert systems, on the formal underpinnings of the CommonKADS methodology for Knowledge-Based Systems. In 1995 he joined the AI research group at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where he co-lead the On-To-Knowledge project, on of the first Semantic Web projects. He was appointed full professor in 2002, and is leading the Knowledge Representation and Reasoning Group. Currently he is scientific director the LarKC project aiming to develop the Large Knowledge Collider, a platform for very large scale semantic web
Semantic Web
The Semantic Web is a collaborative movement led by the World Wide Web Consortium that promotes common formats for data on the World Wide Web. By encouraging the inclusion of semantic content in web pages, the Semantic Web aims at converting the current web of unstructured documents into a "web of...
reasoning.
Work
Frank van Harmelen's research interests include artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, knowledge representation
Knowledge representation
Knowledge representation is an area of artificial intelligence research aimed at representing knowledge in symbols to facilitate inferencing from those knowledge elements, creating new elements of knowledge...
and the semantic web
Semantic Web
The Semantic Web is a collaborative movement led by the World Wide Web Consortium that promotes common formats for data on the World Wide Web. By encouraging the inclusion of semantic content in web pages, the Semantic Web aims at converting the current web of unstructured documents into a "web of...
, approximate reasoning and Medical Protocols. He was one of the co-designers of the Web Ontology Language
Web Ontology Language
The Web Ontology Language is a family of knowledge representation languages for authoring ontologies.The languages are characterised by formal semantics and RDF/XML-based serializations for the Semantic Web...
(OWL) and the Ontology Inference Layer
Ontology Inference Layer
OIL can be regarded as an Ontology infrastructure for the Semantic Web. OIL is based on concepts developed in Description Logic and frame-based systems and is compatible with RDFS....
(OIL), and has published books on meta-level inference, on knowledge-based systems, and on the Semantic Web.
Publications
Frank van Harmelen has published over 100 research papers and several books. A selection:- 1989. Logic-Based Knowledge Representation. With P. Jackson and H. Reichgelt. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1989. ISBN 0-262-10038-X.
- 1991. Meta-level Inference Systems F. van Harmelen. Research Notes in AI. Pitmann, Morgan Kaufmann, London, San Mateo, California, 1991. ISBN 1558601961
- 2003. Towards the semantic web: ontology-driven knowledge management With John Davies and Dieter Fensel (eds.) John Wiley & Sons, 2002, ISBN 0470848677
- 2004. A Semantic Web Primer (Cooperative Information Systems). With Grigoris Antoniou. MIT Press. ISBN 0262012103
- 2004. Information Sharing on the Semantic Web. With Heiner Stuckenschmidt. Springer. ISBN 3540205942
- 2008. Handbook of Knowledge Representation. With V. Lifschitz and B. Porter, Elsevier, 2008. ISBN 978-0-444-52211-5.