PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Anton van den Hengel

Anton van den Hengel coauthored a visual-question-answering model that won first place in the 2017 VQA Challenge. He earned undergraduate degrees in law and mathematical science at Adelaide, plus a master's and PhD in computer science there. He became a professor at the University of Adelaide in 2009 and received CVPR's Best Paper prize in 2010. In March 2020, he joined Amazon as Director of Applied Science, formed the Australian arm of its International Machine Learning group, continued directing AIML, and was elected an ATSE Fellow. The CORE Academy inducted him in 2025; as of October 2026, he is AIML Chief Scientist, Director of the Centre for Augmented Reasoning, and a Professor of Computer Science at Adelaide University.

Now at
University of Adelaide, Amazon, Centre for Augmented Reasoning and Adelaide University
Works
439
Citations
28,297
h-index
78

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1988–1993

    Undergraduate degrees

    He earns a Bachelor of Mathematical Science in 1991 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1993 at the University of Adelaide.

  2. 1993–2000

    Computer science degrees

    He completes a master's degree in computer science in 1994 and a PhD in computer science in 2000 at Adelaide.

  3. Since 2009

    Professor at Adelaide

    He becomes a professor at the University of Adelaide in 2009.

  4. 2010

    A CVPR best paper prize

    He wins the CVPR Best Paper prize in 2010.

  5. 2017

    A VQA challenge paper

    He coauthors the 2017 paper Tips and Tricks for Visual Question Answering: Learnings from the 2017 Challenge, whose model wins first place in the VQA Challenge.

  6. 2020

    Amazon and ATSE roles

    In March 2020, he joins Amazon as Director of Applied Science and forms the Australian arm of its International Machine Learning group. He continues to direct AIML, and ATSE elects him a Fellow in 2020.

  7. 2025

    CORE Academy induction

    The CORE Academy inducts him in 2025.

  8. As of October 2026

    AIML chief scientist

    He has served as AIML Chief Scientist since 2019. As of October 2026, he directs the Centre for Augmented Reasoning and is a Professor of Computer Science at Adelaide University.

Sources and credits

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  1. Prof Anton Van Den Hengel | Researcher Profiles | Adelaide University researchers.adelaide.edu.au. Checked 15 October 2026.
  2. Tips and Tricks for Visual Question Answering: Learnings from the 2017 Challenge arxiv.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  3. A Business Luncheon with Anton van den Hengel, Director of Applied Science, Amazon www39.telligence.net.au. Checked 15 October 2026.
  4. New Fellows 2020 atse.org.au. Checked 15 October 2026.
  5. The CORE Academy core.edu.au. Checked 15 October 2026.
  6. Our people | Australian Institute for Machine Learning | Adelaide University adelaide.edu.au. Checked 15 October 2026.
  7. Artificial Intelligence Experts adelaide.edu.au. Checked 15 October 2026.