Researcher

Serge Abiteboul

Also known as Serge Joseph Abiteboul

Serge Abiteboul is a French computer scientist whose database research bears on AI through knowledge management and Web data. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and joined Inria as a researcher in 1982. His book Foundations of Databases, written with Richard Hull and Victor Vianu, appeared in 1995, and he received the ACM SIGMOD Innovation Award in 1998. In 2013 he received the Royal Society Milner Award, and in 2020 he co-wrote The Age of Algorithms with Gilles Dowek, a book with a chapter on whether an algorithm can be intelligent. As of October 2026, he is Director of Research Emeritus at Inria, with an ENS Paris affiliation.

Works
747
Citations
22,101
h-index
71

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1982

    A research post at Inria

    He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. In 1982 he joins Inria as a researcher.

  2. 1995

    Foundations of databases

    Foundations of Databases, written with Richard Hull and Victor Vianu, is published in 1995.

  3. 1998

    An ACM SIGMOD award

    He receives the ACM SIGMOD Innovation Award in 1998.

  4. 2008

    Academy membership and an ERC grant

    The French Academy of Sciences elects him in 2008. In 2008 he wins an ERC Advanced Grant for the Webdam project on web data management.

  5. 2013

    The Royal Society Milner Award

    The Royal Society Milner Award goes to him in 2013 for database research with significant scientific and industrial impact.

  6. April 2020

    The Age of Algorithms

    Co-written with Gilles Dowek, The Age of Algorithms is published by Cambridge University Press in April 2020. One chapter asks whether an algorithm can be intelligent.

  7. June 2023

    Presiding over a digital council

    DGFiP, the French public finance directorate, gives him the presidency of its new scientific digital council (CSN).

  8. As of October 2026

    Emeritus research director at Inria

    His current post is Director of Research Emeritus at Inria, with an ENS Paris affiliation. Data, information and knowledge management is the focus of his work.

Sources and credits

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  1. Biography and publications | Serge Abiteboul - Computer Sciences and Digital Technologies | Collège de France college-de-france.fr. Checked 15 October 2026.
  2. Serge Abiteboul - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  3. Serge Abiteboul | ENS-PARIS-SACLAY ens-paris-saclay.fr. Checked 15 October 2026.
  4. The Age of Algorithms (Cambridge University Press) i-programmer.info. Checked 15 October 2026.
  5. Can an Algorithm Be Intelligent? (Chapter 18) - The Age of Algorithms cambridge.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  6. Un président pour le nouveau conseil scientifique du numérique de la DGFIP - Acteurs Publics acteurspublics.fr. Checked 15 October 2026.
  7. Serge Abiteboul | Académie des sciences academie-sciences.fr. Checked 15 October 2026.