PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Aimee van Wynsberghe

Also known as Aimee Van Wynsberghe

Aimee van Wynsberghe is a researcher in AI and robotics ethics whose work connects responsible technology with sustainability. She earned degrees in cell biology, applied ethics, and bioethics, completed a 2012 doctorate at Twente on ethical care-robot design, and held academic posts at Twente and Delft. She co-founded the Foundation for Responsible Robotics in 2015 and received a L’Oréal UNESCO For Women in Science award in 2018. Her 2021 paper and a 2022 interview linked AI’s uses for sustainability with the environmental costs of building and using AI systems. She is Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Applied Ethics of AI at Bonn, directs its Institute for Science and Ethics, and founded the Bonn Sustainable AI Lab; the Leopoldina elected her in 2025.

Works
89
Citations
3,732
h-index
28
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 18 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2006–2012

    Biology, ethics and care robots

    She earns a cell biology degree at Western Ontario in 2006, a master’s degree in applied ethics at Leuven in 2007, a bioethics master’s through Erasmus Mundus in 2008, and a PhD in applied ethics at Twente in 2012. Her 2012 dissertation develops an ethical framework for care-robot design.

  2. 2012–2017

    Teaching robot ethics at Twente

    At Twente, she works as a postdoctoral researcher from 2012 to 2014 and an assistant professor in philosophy from 2014 to 2017.

  3. 2015

    Co-founding a robotics foundation

    She co-founds the Foundation for Responsible Robotics in 2015 and co-directs it with Shannon Vallor.

  4. 2017–2021

    Ethics roles at Delft

    At TU Delft, she serves as an assistant professor from 2017 to 2020, directs its Artificial Intelligence Lab from 2019 to 2021, and holds a tenured associate professorship from 2020 to 2021. She serves as rapporteur for the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on AI from 2018 to 2020.

  5. 2018

    A L’Oréal UNESCO award

    She receives the L’Oréal UNESCO For Women in Science award in 2018 for her research and contribution to scientific dialogue.

  6. 2021–2022

    Defining Sustainable AI

    Her 2021 paper’s title sets out both AI for sustainability and the sustainability of AI. In a 2022 interview, she explains that sustainability research must examine AI’s physical infrastructure, its carbon emissions, mineral use, water and land needs, and electronic waste.

  7. 2025

    AI policy and lifecycle research

    She joins the Federal Environment Ministry’s AI and Sustainability expert group and is elected to the Leopoldina in 2025. She co-authors the 2025 study “More than Carbon: Cradle-to-Grave environmental impacts of GenAI training on the Nvidia A100 GPU,” which assesses AI training across 16 environmental impact categories.

  8. Since 2021

    Leading AI ethics in Bonn

    She holds the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship in Applied Ethics of AI at the University of Bonn, directs its Institute for Science and Ethics, and is the founder of the Bonn Sustainable AI Lab. In 2026, she co-authors a journal article assessing cradle-to-grave environmental impacts from training generative AI on an Nvidia A100 GPU.

A language model matched the links in this timeline to people, organizations and papers (provisional, model-judged).

Career

  1. Since 2021University of BonnAlexander von Humboldt Professor of Applied Ethics of AI, Founder
  2. From 2025Federal Environment MinistryMember
  3. 2018–2020European UnionRapporteur
  4. 2017–2021Delft University of TechnologyAssistant Professor, Director
  5. From 2015Foundation for Responsible RoboticsCo-founder and co-director
  6. 2012–2017University of TwentePostdoctoral Researcher, Assistant Professor in Philosophy
  7. 2008–2009KU Leuven

Education

  1. 2012University of TwentePhD in applied ethics
  2. 2007KU LeuvenMaster’s degree in applied ethics
  3. 2006University of Western OntarioDegree in cell biology

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Sustainable AI: AI for sustainability and the sustainability of AI2021 · AI and Ethics · 923 citations
  2. Designing Robots for Care: Care Centered Value-Sensitive Design2012 · Science and Engineering Ethics · 428 citations
  3. A Research Agenda for Hybrid Intelligence: Augmenting Human Intellect With Collaborative, Adaptive, Responsible, and Explainable Artificial Intelligence2020 · Computer · 410 citationsWith Catholijn Jonker, Frank Dignum, Frank van Harmelen, Hayley Hung, Herke van Hoof and Holger H. Hoos
  4. Critiquing the Reasons for Making Artificial Moral Agents2018 · Science and Engineering Ethics · 160 citations
  5. Service robots, care ethics, and design2016 · Ethics and Information Technology · 135 citations

From OpenAlex, as of 18 October 2026.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Bonn. Our estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers rose from 2% to 33%Includes University of Bonn. We estimate where leading AI researchers worked when their most-cited papers appeared. The company share rose from 2% in 1975–1979 to 33% in 2020–2024.
  3. Stanford University trained or employed 27 of the 113 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Bonn. Stanford University trained or employed 27 of the 113 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and employment links for major-prize and best-paper winners.
  4. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Delft University of Technology. Our estimates of combined and median h-index at AI organizations, using current affiliations and OpenAlex records.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Aimee van Wynsberghe yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Prof. Dr. Aimee van Wynsberghe — Institut für Wissenschaft und Ethik iwe.uni-bonn.de. Checked 18 October 2026.
  2. Roboter-Ethikerin kommt an die Universität Bonn — Universität Bonn uni-bonn.de. Checked 18 October 2026.
  3. Why Robotics Needs Responsibility — VolkswagenStiftung volkswagenstiftung.de. Checked 18 October 2026.
  4. Humans of TU Delft: Aimee van Wynsberghe — Delta delta.tudelft.nl. Checked 18 October 2026.
  5. Stuck in an Unsustainable Infrastructure — sustAIn sustain.algorithmwatch.org. Checked 18 October 2026.
  6. More than Carbon: Cradle-to-Grave environmental impacts of GenAI training on the Nvidia A100 GPU arxiv.org. Checked 18 October 2026.