PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Pascal Hitzler

Pascal Hitzler is a computer scientist whose research connects the Semantic Web, knowledge graphs and neurosymbolic AI. Trained as a mathematician, he earned a Diplom at Tübingen in 1998 and a PhD at University College Cork in 2001, then worked at TU Dresden, the University of Karlsruhe and Wright State University. In 2010 he was a founding Editor-in-Chief of the Semantic Web journal and co-authored the textbook Foundations of Semantic Web Technologies, and in 2020 he received the Semantic Web Science Association Ten-Year Award. At Kansas State University, which he joined in 2019, he was named a University Distinguished Professor in 2025. He is Director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science there and founding Editor-in-Chief of the Neurosymbolic Artificial Intelligence journal.

Now at
Kansas State University, Kansas Legislature and Samsung
Born
1971
Works
558
Citations
11,219
h-index
56
Badges

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

Timeline

  1. 1992–2001

    Mathematics in Tübingen and Cork

    He studies mathematics and computer science at the University of Tübingen from 1992 and earns a Diplom in Mathematics in 1998. At University College Cork in Ireland, he completes a PhD in Mathematics in 2001 under Anthony Karel Seda, with a thesis on generalized metrics and topology in logic programming semantics.

  2. 2001–2009

    Postdoc in Dresden, then Karlsruhe

    From 2001, he is a postdoctoral researcher at the Artificial Intelligence Institute of TU Dresden. He is Akademischer Rat at the Institute for Applied Informatics and Formal Description Methods (AIFB) at the University of Karlsruhe from 2004 to 2009. In 2005, he co-founds the Workshop on Neural-Symbolic Learning and Reasoning (NeSy).

  3. 2009–2019

    Professor at Wright State

    He joins Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, in 2009 as an assistant professor of computer science and engineering, becomes associate professor in 2012, and full professor and Director of Data Science in 2015. He holds the endowed NCR Distinguished Professor title from 2016 and the Brage Golding Distinguished Professor of Research title from 2018, until he leaves in 2019.

  4. 2010

    Semantic Web journal and textbook

    The first issue of the Semantic Web journal appears in 2010, with Hitzler and Krzysztof Janowicz as Editors-in-Chief. His textbook Foundations of Semantic Web Technologies, written with Markus Krötzsch and Sebastian Rudolph, comes out from CRC Press in 2010 and is named one of seven Outstanding Academic Titles 2010 in Information and Computer Science by the American Library Association's Choice Magazine.

  5. 2019–2020

    Joining Kansas State University

    He joins the Department of Computer Science at Kansas State University in 2019 as Lloyd T. Smith Creativity in Engineering Chair. In 2020, he becomes Director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (CAIDS).

  6. 2020

    A Semantic Web ten-year award

    In 2020, he and his co-authors receive the Semantic Web Science Association Ten-Year Award for their paper "Ontology Alignment for Linked Open Data," first presented at the International Semantic Web Conference in 2010. The paper's method uses crowdsourced data from Wikipedia for data integration.

  7. 2023–2025

    Digital agriculture and a distinguished title

    In September 2023, he becomes Director (Research) of the Institute for Digital Agriculture and Advanced Analytics (ID3A) at Kansas State, a university initiative that combines artificial intelligence, data science and agricultural research. In 2025, the university names him a University Distinguished Professor, its highest academic title.

  8. As of October 2026

    Neurosymbolic AI at K-State

    He is Director (Research) of ID3A and Director of CAIDS, and serves on the Kansas Legislature AI Taskforce and the Samsung AI Advisory Board. In March 2026, he presents "Some Advances in Neurosymbolic AI Related to Ontologies and Knowledge Graphs" at Ontology Summit 2026. He is founding Editor-in-Chief of the Neurosymbolic Artificial Intelligence journal.

Career

  1. Since 2019Kansas State UniversityLloyd T. Smith Creativity in Engineering Chair, Director
  2. NowKansas LegislatureMember
  3. NowSamsungMember
  4. 2009–2019Wright State UniversityAssistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
  5. 2004–2009University of KarlsruheAkademischer Rat
  6. 2004–2009Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
  7. 2001–2004Technische Universität DresdenPostdoctoral researcher

Education

  1. 2001University College CorkPhD in Mathematics
  2. 1998University of TübingenDiplom in Mathematics

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

Most-cited works

  1. Foundations of Semantic Web Technologies2009 · Chapman & Hall/CRC eBooks · 565 citations
  2. OWL 2 Web Ontology Language Primer (Second Edition)2012 · Journal of Bioresource Management · 307 citationsWith Peter F. Patel-Schneider
  3. The Semantic Web - Iswc 20102011 · 270 citationsWith Ian Horrocks and Peter F. Patel-Schneider
  4. A review of the semantic web field2021 · Communications of the ACM · 253 citations
  5. Neural-Symbolic Learning and Reasoning: A Survey and Interpretation2017 · 243 citationsWith Artur d'Avila Garcez and Pedro Domingos

From OpenAlex, as of 21 October 2026.

  1. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public rolesIncludes Pascal Hitzler. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public roles. Another 97 people moved from public careers into AI organizations or research, with 62% of dated records starting from 2020 on.
  2. Google alumni have founded or led 133 other organizations, more than any other AI labIncludes Samsung. We estimate that alumni of 17 major AI labs went on to found or lead 350 other organizations, including 226 they founded, and we trace 472 career moves directly between 23 labs since 2010.
  3. 20% of people at companies who shape AI also hold a university role, led by Google and Stanford UniversityIncludes Samsung. We estimate that 539 of the 6,766 people with a known current organization (8%) hold both a university role and a company role, including 20% of people at companies and 13% of people at universities.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Kansas State University. 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 Pascal Hitzler yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Brief CV - Pascal Hitzler cs.ksu.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Pascal Hitzler - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. First issue Semantic Web journal published - Research & Development World rdworldonline.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Pascal Hitzler named 2025 University Distinguished Professor | K-State Today | Kansas State University k-state.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Computer science professor recognized for collaborative efforts in scientific writing k-state.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. ConferenceCall 2026 03 18 - Ontolog Forum ontologforum.org. Checked 20 October 2026.