Institute of Artificial Intelligence

Prof. Dr. Birte Glimm

Since July 2011 I work at the University of Ulm within the Institute of Artificial Intelligence. Until June 2017  as a junior professor and since then as full professor. In 2019 our project "Do it yourself, but not alone: Companion-Technology for Home Improvement" was awarded a price for cooperations between science and industry (Kooperationspreis Wissenschaft-Wirtschaft). In 2017 I received a Google Faculty Research Award and I was honoured with the Mileva Einstein-Marić-Prize. 

Before coming to Ulm, I was a research assistant in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford, where I worked in the Information Systems Group, mainly on developing algorithms for automated reasoning in expressive Description Logics and on the implementation of the HermiT reasoner.

I did my PhD in Manchester in the Information Management Group under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ian Horrocks and Prof. Dr. Uli Sattler and I was honoured with the Best Thesis Award from the School of Computer Science at Manchester University in 2008. From September 2001 until July 2004 I studied Computer Science in the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences and I received my bachelor degree with an award for the best degree.

Before studying Computer Science, I worked for 3.5 years in Industry and did another degree in Communication Design.

Further Information

My scientific interest is mainly in knowledge representation and automatic reasoning. I develop, implement and optimize algorithms for automatic reasoning in expressive description logics and analyze their complexity. For example, I have developed various optimizations for tableau algorithms, novel procedures for combining tableau and saturation-based algorithms and algorithms for answering queries. Our new abstraction and refinement procedure allows conclusions to be drawn about knowledge bases with very large amounts of data. We are also working on providing autonomous vehicles with dynamic knowledge of map data, where a particular challenge lies in the high dynamics. Our research on the generation of explanations in natural language allows the automated derivations to be made comprehensible.

I am an editor of the SPARQL 1.1 Entailment Regimes specification, developed within the SPARQL Working Group of the W3C. Entailment regimes extend SPARQL to work with semantics other than simple entailment, e.g., RDF and RDFS semantics and OWL Direct and RDF-Based Semantics. I am also an editor of the OWL 2 Web Ontology Language Conformance specification, which describes the conditions that OWL 2 tools must satisfy in order to be conformant with the language specification.

  • since 2019 Chair of the Exam Board Computer Science (for BSc+Msc Computer Science, BSc+Msc Media Informatics, BSc+Msc Software Engineering, MSc Artificial Intelligence)
  • since 2014 Chair of the Admissions Board Cognitive Systems
  • since 2022 Deputy Ombudsperson Good Research Practice
  • since 2019 Deputy of the Exam Board Cognitive Systems
  • seit 2022 Member Dr. rer. nat. PhD Commission
  • 2019-2022 Chair of the Exam Board Cognitive Systems
  • 2018-2021 Member of the Study Commission Cognitive Systems
  • SoSe 2021 Member of the Study Commission Computer Science
  • 2015-2018 Programme Coordination MSc Cognitive Systems

Projects and seminars in the area of Semantic Web and Artificial Intelligence

Lectures

SS 2023: Programming Concepts for Cognitive Systems, Foundations of Semantic Web Technologies

WS 2022/2023: Knowledge-Based Artificial Intelligence, Künstliche Intelligenz und Neuroinformatik

SS 2022: Programming Concepts for Cognitive Systems

WS 2021/2022: research semester

SS 2021: Programming Concepts for Cognitive Systems, Foundations of Semantic Web Technologies

WS 2020/2021: Web Engineering

SS 2020: Programming Concepts for Cognitive Systems

WS 2019/2020: Web Engineering, Foundations of Semantic Web Technologies

SS 2019: Programming Concepts for Cognitive Systems

WS 2018/2019: Web Engineering, Foundations of Semantic Web Technologies

SS 2018: Einführung in die Informatik, Programming Concepts for Cognitive Systems

WS 2017/2018: Web Engineering, Programming Concepts for Cognitive Systems

SS 2017: Foundations of Semantic Web Technologies, Einführung in die Informatik

WS 2016/2017: Introduction to Computer Science for Psychologists, Web Engineering

SS 2016: Foundations of Semantic Web Technologies

WS 2015/2016: Introduction to Computer Science for Psychologists

SS 2015: Foundations of Semantic Web Technologies

WS 2013/2014: Einführung in die Informatik, Semantic Web Grundlagen

SS 2013: Algorithmen in der Wissensrepräsentation

WS 2012/2013: Semantic Web Grundlagen

SS 2012: Algorithmen in der Wissensrepräsentation

WS 2011/2012: Semantic Web Grundlagen

2020 Best Paper Award, Haonan Qiu, Adel Ayara and Birte Glimm, International Conference on Knowledge Engineering and Ontology Development
2020 Best Research Track Senior Programme Committee Member, International Semantic Web Conference
2019 Kooperationspreis Wissenschaft-Wirtschaft
2019 Best Reproducibility Award, Andreas Steigmiller and Birte Glimm, International Semantic Web Conference
2019 Best Research Paper Award runner-up, Andreas Steigmiller and Birte Glimm, International Semantic Web Conference
2017 Google Faculty Research Award
2017 Mileva Einstein-Marić-Preis 
2016 Best Resources Paper, B. Parsia, N. Matentzoglu, R. S. Goncalves, B. Glimm and A. Steigmiller, International Semantic Web Conference
2015 OWL Reasoner Evaluation Competition, 6 Tracks (Reasoner Konclude: 4 × 1. and 2 × 2. prize, Reasoner HermiT: 1 × 2. and 4 × 3. prize)
2014 ISWC Best Reviewer Research Track, International Semantic Web Conference
2014 Kurt Gödel medal, 1. FLoC Olympic Games
2014 OWL Reasoner Evaluation Competition, 6 Tracks (Reasoner Konclude: 5 × 1. and 1 × 2. prize, Reasoner HermiT: 1 × 2. and 1 × 3. prize)
2013 OWL Reasoner Evaluation Competition, 9 Tracks (Reasoner Konclude: 3×1., 2×2. and 2 × 3. prize, Reasoner HermiT: 1 × 1., 2 × 2. and 1 × 3. prize)
2011 Best Programme Committee Member Finalist, International Semantic Web Conference
2010 Best Research Paper Nominee, Birte Glimm, Ian Horrocks, Boris Motik and Giorgos Stoilos, International Semantic Web Conference
2008 Steve Furber Medal for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis in Computer Science
09.04–09.07 Doctoral scholarship of the Foundation of German Business
09.04–09.07 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council studentship
2004 Best computer science degree in 2004 at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
04.02–07.04 Scholarship of the Foundation of German Business

  • Moritz Illich (2021-)
  • Haonan Qiu (submitted 2021, defense pending)
  • Andreas Steigmiller (finished 2016, summa cum laude, dissertation award Thomas Gessmann-Stiftung)
  • Ilianna Kollia (external at the National Technical University of Athens, finished 2014)

Publications

2012

28.
Glimm, Birte; Horrocks, Ian; Motik, Boris; Shearer, Rob; Stoilos, Giorgos
A Novel Approach to Ontology Classification
Journal of Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web, 14 :84-101
July 2012
Publisher: Elsevier Science Publishers (North-Holland)
ISSN: 1570-8268
DOI:10.1016/j.websem.2011.12.007
File:pdfhttp://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2012/GHMS12a.pdf
27.
Kollia, Ilianna; Glimm, Birte
Cost Based Query Ordering over OWL Ontologies
, Proceedings of the 25th International Description Logic Workshop (DL 2012)Volume846fromCEUR Workshop Proceedings
June 2012
File:pdfhttp://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2012/KoGl12a.pdf
26.
Steigmiller, Andreas; Liebig, Thorsten; Glimm, Birte
Extended Caching and Backjumping for Expressive Description Logics
, Proceedings of the 25th International Description Logic Workshop (DL 2012)Volume846fromCEUR Workshop Proceedings
June 2012
File:pdfhttp://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2012/StLG12b.pdf
25.
Steigmiller, Andreas; Liebig, Thorsten; Glimm, Birte
Extended Caching, Backjumping and Merging for Expressive Description Logics
, Proceedings of the 6th International Joint Conference on Automated Reasoning (IJCAR 2012)Volume7364fromLecture Notes in Computer Science, Page 514-529
June 2012
DOI:10.1007/978-3-642-31365-3_40
File:pdfhttp://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2012/StLG12a.pdf
24.
Glimm, Birte; Hogan, Aidan; Krötzsch, Markus; Polleres, Axel
OWL: Yet to arrive on the Web of Data?
Volume 937
Proceedings of the 5th Linked Data on the Web Workshop (LDOW2012)
Publisher: CEUR Workshop Proceedings
April 2012
File:pdfhttp://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2012/GHKP12a.pdf
23.
Nikitina, Nadeschda; Rudolph, Sebastian; Glimm, Birte
Interactive Ontology Revision
Journal of Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web, 12-13 :118-130
April 2012
Publisher: Elsevier Science Publishers (North-Holland), Amsterdam
ISSN: 1570-8268
DOI:10.1016/j.websem.2011.12.002
File:pdfhttp://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2012/NiRG12a.pdf
22.
Steigmiller, Andreas; Liebig, Thorsten; Glimm, Birte
Extended Caching, Backjumping and Merging for Expressive Description Logics
Document Number: TR-2012-01
University of Ulm
2012
File:pdfhttp://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui/Ulmer_Informatik_Berichte/2012/UIB-2012-01.pdf

2011

21.
Glimm, Birte
Answering Queries over OWL Ontologies with SPARQL
, Proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on OWL: Experiences and Directions (OWLED 2011)Volume796
Publisher: CEUR Workshop Proceedings
2011
File:pdfhttp://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2011/KoGH11b.pdf
20.
Glimm, Birte
Query Answering over SROIQ Knowledge Bases with SPARQL
, Proceedings of the 2011 International Workshop on Description Logic (DL 2011)Volume745
Publisher: CEUR Workshop Proceedings
2011
File:pdfhttp://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2011/KoGH11c.pdf
19.
Glimm, Birte
Reasoning Web 2011
Volume 6848 from Lecture Notes in Computer Science
Chapter Using SPARQL with RDFS and OWL Entailment, Page 137-201
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
2011
137-201
DOI:10.1007/978-3-642-23032-5_3
File:pdfhttp://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2011/Glim11a.pdf
18.
Glimm, Birte
Reasoning-Supported Interactive Revision of Knowledge Bases
, Proceedings of the 22nd International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI 2011)Volume745
Publisher: AAAI Press/The MIT Press
2011
File:pdfhttp://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2011/NiRG11a.pdf
17.
Kazakov, Yevgeny; Lutz, Carsten; Glimm, Birte
Status QIO: An Update
In Riccardo Rosati and Sebastian Rudolph and Michael Zakharyaschev, Editor, Description LogicsVolume745fromCEUR Workshop Proceedings
In Riccardo Rosati and Sebastian Rudolph and Michael Zakharyaschev, Editor
Publisher: CEUR-WS.org
2011
File:pdf/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2011/GliKazLut11QIO_DL.pdf
16.
Nikitina, Nadeschda; Glimm, Birte; Rudolph, Sebastian
Wheat and Chaff - Practically Feasible Interactive Ontology Revision
, Proceedings of the 10th International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC 2011)Volume7031, Page 487-503
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
2011
DOI:10.1007/978-3-642-25073-6_31
File:pdfhttps://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2011/NiGR11a.pdf

2010

15.
Glimm, Birte
Integrated Metamodeling and Diagnosis in OWL 2
Document Number: 3006
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Institut AIFB, KIT
Proceedings of the 9th International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC 2010)
2010
DOI:10.1007/978-3-642-17746-0_17
File:pdfhttp://www.aifb.kit.edu/images/a/a4/TR-GRV-MEtamodelling.pdf
14.
Glimm, Birte
Nominals, Inverses, Counting, and Conjunctive Queries or: Why Infinity is your Friend!
Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 39 :429-481
2010
DOI:10.1613/jair.3029
File:pdfhttps://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2010/RuGl10a.pdf
13.
Glimm, Birte
Optimising Ontology Classification
, Proceedings of the 9th International Semantic Web Conference (ISWC 2010)Volume6414fromLecture Notes in Computer Science, Page 225-240
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
2010
DOI:10.1007/978-3-642-21034-1_26
File:pdfhttps://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2010/GHMS10a.pdf
12.
Glimm, Birte
Optimized Description Logic Reasoning via Core Blocking
, Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Automated Reasoning (IJCAR 2010)Volume6173fromLecture Notes in Computer Science, Page 457-471
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
2010
DOI:10.1007/978-3-642-14203-1_39
File:pdfhttps://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2010/GlHM10a.pdf

2009

11.
Glimm, Birte
A Syntax for Rules in OWL 2
Publisher: CEUR Workshop Proceedings
The University of Oxford
Proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on OWL: Experiences and Directions (OWLED 2009)
2009
File:pdfhttps://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2009/GHPP09b.pdf
10.
Glimm, Birte
Conjunctive Query Entailment: Decidable in Spite of O, I, and Q
, Proceedings of the 2009 International Workshop on Description Logic (DL 2009)Volume477
Publisher: CEUR Workshop Proceedings
2009
File:pdfhttps://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2009/GlRu09a.pdf

2008

9.
Glimm, Birte; Kazakov, Yevgeny
Role Conjunctions in Expressive Description Logics
Publisher: Lecture Notes in Computer Science
The University of Oxford
Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Logic for Programming and Automated Reasoning (LPAR 2008)
2008
DOI:10.1007/978-3-540-89439-1_28
File:pdfhttps://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2008/GlKa08b.pdf

2007

8.
Glimm, Birte
Conjunctive Query Answering for the Description Logic SHIQ
, Proceedings of the 20th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI 2007)Volume31, Page 150-197
2007
DOI:10.1613/jair.2372
File:pdfhttps://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2007/GHLS07a.pdf
7.
Glimm, Birte
Conjunctive Query Entailment for SHOQ
, Proceedings of the 2007 International Workshop on Description Logic (DL 2007)Volume250
Publisher: CEUR Workshop Proceedings
2007
File:pdfhttps://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2007/GlHS07a.pdf
6.
Glimm, Birte
Hybrid Logics and Ontology Languages
Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science, 174 (6) :3-14
2007
DOI:10.1016/j.entcs.2006.11.022
File:pdfhttps://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2007/HoGS07a.pdf
5.
Glimm, Birte
Querying Description Logic Knowledge Bases
PhD thesis
PhD thesis
The University of Manchester
2007
File:pdfhttps://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2007/Glim07a.pdf

2006

4.
Glimm, Birte
Conjunctive Query Answering for Description Logics with Transitive Roles
, Proceedings of the 2006 International Workshop on Description Logic (DL 2006)Volume189
2006
File:pdfhttps://www.uni-ulm.de/fileadmin/website_uni_ulm/iui.inst.090/Publikationen/2006/GlHS06a.pdf