RWTH Computer Scientist’s Legacy Celebrated with New Research Center at Pohang University

RWTH professor Wil van der Aalst is being given a rare honor: Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) is establishing a Wil van der Aalst Data & Process Science Research Center. The South Korean university is a well-established research partner of the Dutchman, who holds the Chair of Process and Data Science at RWTH. Van der Aalst is considered to be a leading expert in the fields of process mining, business process management, workflow management systems, and data science. He developed the first process mining techniques such as process discovery, conformance checking, and predictive algorithms. Several commercially available process mining tools are based on his research over the last two decades. According to Research.com, Van der Aalst is one of the ten best computer scientists in the world. He joined RWTH Aachen University in 2018 on an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship.

The Wil van der Aalst Data & Process Science Research Center is expected to become a world-leading research center that will focus on both theoretical and applied research in the fields of data science and process science. “The center will lead the way in innovative research by integrating both data and process science. We aim to enhance collaboration with researchers at home and abroad, contributing not only to academic success but also to industrial applications,” emphasizes Professor Minseok Song, Head of the Department of Industrial & Management Engineering at POSTECH.

Key objectives of the center include highly effective research in collaboration with global and local partners with the aim of strengthening ties between industry and academia. This will concentrate particularly on sectors such as manufacturing, services, and finance, where data and process science can drive innovation. The center also wishes to build a global research network by working with distinguished international faculty and institutions.

The man after whom the center is named is also known for his professional network: Wil van der Aalst holds, among other things, an honorary doctorate from the University of Hasselt, he is a member of the Royal Holland Society of Science and Humanities, of Academia Europea, and of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.