Nils Jansen

Nils Jansen is a computer scientist whose research combines formal verification and machine learning to improve AI safety under uncertainty. He studied computer science at RWTH Aachen, worked on the PROPhESY model checker, and pursued postdoctoral research in Aachen and at the University of Texas at Austin. He joined Radboud University Nijmegen as an assistant professor in 2017 and became an associate professor in 2022. In 2023, he received an ERC Starting Grant for DEUCE, a project on safer reinforcement learning. At Ruhr University Bochum, he leads the Chair of Artificial Intelligence and Formal Methods; he is also Professor of Safe and Dependable AI at Radboud and an ELLIS Fellow.

Now at: Radboud University Nijmegen and Ruhr University Bochum
Works: 208
Citations: 2,425
h-index: 28

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

1982–2015

From Simmerath to RWTH

He is born in Simmerath, Germany, in 1982 and studies computer science at RWTH Aachen from 2002 to 2009. At RWTH, he works as a PhD student and research assistant from 2009 to 2015 on counterexample generation and symbolic techniques for probabilistic verification.
2015

PROPhESY for probabilistic systems

During his RWTH research, he contributes to PROPhESY, a parametric model checker for probabilistic systems whose paper is presented at CAV in 2015.
2016

Postdoctoral work in Austin

After a postdoctoral year in Aachen, he moves to the University of Texas at Austin in 2016.
2017–2022

Assistant professor at Radboud

He joins Radboud University Nijmegen as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in 2017 and becomes Associate Professor in 2022.
2023

The DEUCE Starting Grant

In 2023, he receives a €1.5 million ERC Starting Grant for DEUCE (Data-driven Learning and Verification under Uncertainty), a project focused on safer reinforcement learning. His team uses mathematical models to capture uncertainty in real-world conditions.
November 2023

Chair at Ruhr University Bochum

In November 2023, he moves from Nijmegen to Bochum to lead the Chair of Artificial Intelligence and Formal Methods at Ruhr University Bochum.
2026

Fellow in ELLIS Unit NRW

In 2026, he is a Fellow in ELLIS Unit NRW, with affiliations to Radboud University and Ruhr University Bochum.
As of October 2026

Professor at Bochum and Radboud

He is Full Professor and head of the Chair of Artificial Intelligence and Formal Methods at Ruhr University Bochum, Professor of Safe and Dependable AI at Radboud University Nijmegen, and a Principal Investigator in CASA.

Career

Since 2023Ruhr University BochumFull Professor and head of the Chair
Since 2017Radboud University NijmegenAssistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor of Safe and Dependable AI
2016–2017University of Texas at AustinPostdoctoral Researcher
2009–2015RWTH Aachen UniversityResearch Assistant