Remembrance of Prof. Dr. rer. nat. habil. Steffen Hölldobler

Remembrance of Prof. Dr. rer. nat. habil. Steffen Hölldobler

The Faculty of Computer Science mourns the loss of its committed colleague and dedicated teacher Prof. Dr. rer. nat. habil. Steffen Hölldobler, who passed away much too early on 9 May 2023 after a serious illness.

Steffen Hölldobler joined the Faculty of Computer Science at Technische Universität Dresden in 1993 as Professor of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning. His research interests included logic, deduction, logical programming, knowledge representation and reasoning, as well as the connection of these formal approaches to cognitive theories of human reasoning and connectionism. His research was already pioneering in the mid-1990s, as he was already investigating the realisation of symbolic reasoning by means of neuronal networks – a topic that is currently receiving a lot of attention again under the keyword "Neuro-symbolic Integration".

Steffen Hölldobler was significantly involved in the conception and shaping of the DFG Research Training Group "Specification of Discrete Processes and Systems of Processes by Operational Models and Logics" (from 1997-2005).

He has rendered great service to the Faculty of Computer Science, particularly in the area of teaching. The international Master's programme Computational Logic (CL), which he established with great commitment in 1997, was one of the first English Master's programmes at a computer science faculty in Germany and thus generated a lot of attention for computer science at TU Dresden. In 2003, he founded the International Center for Computational Logic (ICCL) as an international competence centre for research and teaching in the field of computational logic. He was also committed to the faculty as Dean of Studies for international programmes.

The "European Master's Program in Computational Logic", established under his leadership in 2004, expanded the previous study programme concept. Steffen Hölldobler was the coordinator of both programmes until 2019 and solicited a large number of Erasmus scholarships. In the period from 2010 to 2014, the two programmes were complemented by the DAAD-funded "International PhD Program in Computational Logic" through his initiative. Prof. Hölldobler organised numerous international summer schools for students both at TU Dresden and in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Mongolia, among others.

The Faculty of Computer Science at TU Dresden owes a lot to Prof. Steffen Hölldobler. We were shocked by the news of his serious illness. With sadness and gratitude, we will remember Steffen Hölldobler with honour.

Further information on his work and awards:
https://tu-dresden.de/ing/informatik/ki/krr/die-professur/professor