My research focus is on computer programs that support rational thinking. I work on logic-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) where conclusions drawn by an AI system can be explained and understood. Knowledge is clearly specified (as facts and if-then rules) and only rational conclusions are drawn by the system. Such knowledge-based AI systems can also be given a number of choices and made to find out which choices lead to conclusions that satisfy some given criteria. This allows to plan, configure, and simulate exact solutions in a wide range of engineering problems, e.g., in knowledge-based configuration and Industry 4.0 scenarios, factory reconfiguration, and cyber-physical systems.

My specific research area is in Answer Set Programming (ASP), ASP Solvers and Tools, and Lazy Grounding. These fields have a strong connection to Logic and are part of Knowledge-Representation, Automated Reasoning, and Artificial Intelligence.