Dieter Fensel
Dieter Fensel was a German professor who researched knowledge representation and formal languages for information environments such as the web. He earned master's degrees in social science and computer science in Berlin, then a doctorate in economics at Karlsruhe in 1993. He helped found the ESWC semantic web conference series, which began in 2004, and he directed the Innsbruck center that became STI Innsbruck. He died in Innsbruck in 2024 after a long illness.
- Works
- 604
- Citations
- 22,057
- h-index
- 68
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.
Timeline
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1960–1989
Studies in Berlin
He is born in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1960. In 1989 he earns master's degrees in social science and computer science in Berlin.
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1993
A doctorate in Karlsruhe
He earns a doctorate in economics at the University of Karlsruhe in 1993 under the supervision of Rudi Studer.
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1998
Habilitation and AIFB work
He receives his habilitation in 1998 and starts work at the Institute for Applied Computer Science and Formal Description Procedures (AIFB). His research covers knowledge representation and formal languages for information environments such as the web.
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2002–2003
Full professor in Innsbruck
In 2002 he becomes a full professor at the University of Innsbruck. In 2003 he also takes up a full professorship at the National University of Ireland in Galway.
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2003–2007
Founding DERI in two cities
He founds the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) in Innsbruck and Galway, and he directs its Innsbruck center, which is renamed STI Innsbruck in December 2007.
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2004
Helping launch ESWC
He helps found the ESWC semantic web conference series, which starts as the European Semantic Web Symposium in Heraklion, Greece, in May 2004.
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2024
Death in Innsbruck
He dies in Innsbruck in 2024 after a long illness, while he leads STI Innsbruck.
Sources and credits
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