PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Joos Vandewalle

Also known as Joseph Vandewalle

Joos Vandewalle is a Belgian engineer and researcher whose work applies mathematical system theory to neural networks and machine learning. After earning degrees at KU Leuven and working at UC Berkeley, he returned to KU Leuven and held the Francqui Chair on Artificial Neural Networks at the University of Liège. He coauthored a book on least-squares support vector machines, served as IEEE's Vice-President of Technical Activities, and became a EURASIP Fellow. He is an emeritus professor at KU Leuven and Honorary President of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts.

Now at
Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts and KU Leuven
Born
1948
Works
942
Citations
43,637
h-index
74
Rankings
#86 by last-author papers
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1948–1976

    Kortrijk and KU Leuven

    In August 1948, he is born in Kortrijk, Belgium. He earns an electrical engineering degree at KU Leuven in 1971 and a doctorate in applied sciences there in 1976.

  2. 1976–1979

    Research at Berkeley

    At UC Berkeley, he works as a research associate from 1976 to 1978 and as a visiting assistant professor from July 1978 to July 1979.

  3. 1979–1992

    Professor at KU Leuven

    He returns to KU Leuven's Department of Electrical Engineering in 1979 and becomes a full professor in 1986. His research applies mathematical system theory to circuits, signal processing, and neural networks. From 1991 to 1992, he holds the Francqui Chair on Artificial Neural Networks at the University of Liège.

  4. 1992

    An IEEE Fellowship

    IEEE elects him a Fellow in 1992 for contributions to nonlinear circuits and systems.

  5. 2002

    Least-squares support vector machines

    In 2002, he coauthors the book Least Squares Support Vector Machines with J. Suykens and colleagues. His work uses a least-squares approach to simplify support vector machines for learning-based classifiers.

  6. 2006–2009

    IEEE vice-president and EURASIP Fellow

    From 2006 to 2009, he serves as Vice-President of Technical Activities of IEEE's Circuits and Systems Society. In 2009, he becomes a EURASIP Fellow for contributions to mathematical methods for signal processing and machine learning.

  7. 2022–2023

    A Kirchhoff Award and doctorate

    He receives the 2022 IEEE Gustav Robert Kirchhoff Award. In October 2023, Peter Paszman Catholic University in Budapest awards him an honorary doctorate for achievements in linear and nonlinear systems, electrical circuits, signal processing, and neural networks.

  8. As of October 2026

    Emeritus professor at KU Leuven

    In September 2025, he chairs KVAB's Reflection Group on Responsible Research and Innovation and Science Ethics and is an emeritus full professor at KU Leuven. As of October 2026, he is an emeritus professor in KU Leuven's Department of Electrical Engineering and Honorary President of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts.

Career

  1. Since 2025Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the ArtsChair
  2. Since 1979KU LeuvenProfessor, Full Professor
  3. 2002–2005IMEC
  4. 1991–1992University of LiègeFrancqui Chair on Artificial Neural Networks
  5. 1976–1979University of California, BerkeleyResearch Associate, Visiting Assistant Professor

Education

  1. 1976KU LeuvenDoctorate in applied sciences
  2. 1971KU LeuvenElectrical engineering degree

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

Most-cited works

  1. Least Squares Support Vector Machine Classifiers1999 · Neural Processing Letters · 9,367 citationsWith Johan Suykens
  2. A Multilinear Singular Value Decomposition2000 · SIAM Journal on Matrix Analysis and Applications · 4,106 citations
  3. Least Squares Support Vector Machines2002 · WORLD SCIENTIFIC eBooks · 3,673 citationsWith Johan Suykens
  4. On the Best Rank-1 and Rank-( R 1, R 2,..., R N ) Approximation of Higher-Order Tensors2000 · SIAM Journal on Matrix Analysis and Applications · 1,567 citations
  5. Weighted least squares support vector machines: robustness and sparse approximation2002 · Neurocomputing · 1,265 citationsWith Johan Suykens

From OpenAlex, as of 21 October 2026.

  1. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes KU Leuven. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  2. Universities keep AI researchers for a median of 6 years, compared with 2 years at frontier labsIncludes KU Leuven. Across 15,811 dated work stays (6,529 people), median role tenure runs from 6 years at universities to 2 years at frontier labs. We compare all five organization types, starting decades from the 1970s to the 2020s, and the organizations that keep people longest.
  3. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIIncludes KU Leuven. We estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes KU Leuven. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Joos Vandewalle yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Emeritus Celebration in honour of professor Joos Vandewalle homes.esat.kuleuven.be. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. STADIUS - Joos Vandewalle esat.kuleuven.be. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Joos Vandewalle - Engineering and Technology History Wiki ethw.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. History | IEEE CASS ieee-cas.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Honorary doctorate for Joos Vandewalle eng.kuleuven.be. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Studienamiddag: Hoe ver kunnen wetenschappers gaan in hun maatschappelijk engagement zonder hun geloofwaardigheid te ondermijnen? kvab.be. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Joos Vandewalle, Committee Member at the TIC Category - Frontiers of Knowledge Awards frontiersofknowledgeawards-fbbva.es. Checked 20 October 2026.