PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Frank van Harmelen

Frank van Harmelen is an AI researcher whose work helped make web data interpretable by machines through formal representations. After a PhD in meta-level reasoning and research on expert systems and CommonKADS, he joined VU Amsterdam and co-led OnToKnowledge, which helped lay the foundations for OWL. He co-authored A Semantic Web Primer and helped architect Sesame, whose RDF storage work received a 2012 impact award. EurAI elected him a Fellow in 2007 and awarded him the 2025 Distinguished Service Award. As of October 2026, he is a professor of AI and Data at VU Amsterdam and an adviser to Fondazione Bruno Kessler.

Timeline

  1. 1985–1995

    Reasoning about reasoning

    After studying mathematics and computer science in Amsterdam, he began an AI PhD at Edinburgh in 1985 and completed it in 1989 on meta-level inference. From 1990 to 1995, he researched reflection in expert systems and CommonKADS at the University of Amsterdam.

  2. 1995–1999

    Moving knowledge onto the Web

    In 1995, he joined VU Amsterdam's AI research group. He became a co-PI of OnToKnowledge, the first European Semantic Web project. Its work helped lay the foundations for OWL, the Web Ontology Language; the broader Semantic Web sought to make web data interpretable by machines through formal representations.

  3. 2007

    A European AI fellowship

    The European AI Society elected him a Fellow.

  4. 2008

    A guide to the Semantic Web

    With Grigoris Antoniou, he co-authored the second edition of A Semantic Web Primer, an introduction to the field's key ideas, languages, and technologies.

  5. 2012

    An impact award for Sesame

    He co-architected Sesame, an RDF storage and retrieval engine. In 2012, he received a 10-year impact award at the International Semantic Web Conference for this work.

  6. 2019

    Human and AI teams

    He led a team of scientists from six Dutch universities in a Hybrid Intelligence project aimed at combining human and artificial intelligence.

  7. 2025

    Service to European AI

    EurAI awarded him its Distinguished Service Award for sustained contributions to artificial intelligence.

  8. As of October 2026

    Current roles at VU and FBK

    He is a professor of AI and Data at VU Amsterdam. Since June 2025, he has also served as an adviser to Fondazione Bruno Kessler in Trento through December 2026.

Sources and credits

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  1. Frank van Harmelen's Home Page cs.vu.nl. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Frank van Harmelen - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam research.vu.nl. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Academy of Europe: van Harmelen Frank ae-info.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Prof. Frank van Harmelen elsevier.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. A Semantic Web Primer - Grigoris Antoniou, Frank Van Harmelen - Google Books books.google.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Gravitation Grants 2019 – Hybrid Intelligence | Network Institute networkinstitute.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. Awards | European Association for Artificial Intelligence eurai.org. Checked 14 October 2026.