RWTH: RWTH computer scientist Holger Hoos awarded Alexander von Humboldt Professorship in Berlin
The AI expert has moved from Leiden to Aachen. Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger and the President of the Humboldt Foundation Hans-Christian Pape honor outstanding researchers.
Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger and the President of the Humboldt Foundation, Hans-Christian Pape, presented Germany’s most valuable research award, the Alexander von Humboldt Professorships, in Berlin. RWTH professor Holger Hoos is one of the 21 top researchers who received the award. The 52-year-old computer scientist is considered a pioneer in the so-called automated configuration and in the selection and performance prediction of algorithms for demanding problems in artificial intelligence (AI). His research has significantly advanced the state of the art in solving a wide range of challenging problems in AI and related fields such as operations research and bioinformatics.
Hoos moved from Leiden University to RWTH at the beginning of the year with one of seven Alexander von Humboldt Professorships for Artificial Intelligence in Germany. This program line is a contribution to the federal government’s national AI strategy. It is aimed at top international scientists who deal with the research and use of AI and its social impact.
“In order to find solutions to the existential crises of our time and to make our lives more sustainable, we need science and its global cooperation,” said the President of the Humboldt Foundation, Hans-Christian Pape. The Humboldt Professorship makes this possible in the field of top-level research. “Germany is not only investing in science – but in the future of all of us.” Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger explained: “With the award, we are strengthening research in Germany and securing our international competitiveness. At the same time, we are expanding our technological sovereignty, which is central to artificial intelligence, for example. Because we want to play a global role in this area.
Up to now, the Humboldt Foundation has awarded the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship to up to ten of the world’s leading researchers from all disciplines who are working abroad. It is endowed with five million euros for experimental scientists and three and a half million euros for theoretical scientists. The award is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. After Matthias Wessling (2010, Chemical Process Engineering), David DiVincenzo (2011, Quantum Physics, together with Forschungszentrum Jülich), Raul Fidel Tempone (2018, Applied Mathematics) and Wil van der Aalst (2018, Computer Science), Hoos is the next Alexander von Humboldt -Professor at the RWTH Aachen University.