Prof. Dr. Birgitta König-Ries

Research Focus

The core of our research group’s work—and the central theme of Birgitta’s academic journey since her PhD—is the distributed and automated use of resources, including information and functionality, in heterogeneous and dynamic environments.

From a methodological perspective, our research is grounded in semantic web technologies and their integration with cutting-edge machine learning approaches, particularly in the field of neuro-symbolic AI. This fusion enables more sophisticated, explainable, and interoperable systems for managing complex data landscapes.

On the application side, Birgitta is deeply committed to advancing the reproducibility and reusability of scientific research. Her work focuses on research data management, ensuring FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data practices, and leveraging knowledge graphs—particularly in the fields of biodiversity, ecology, and chemistry.

Additionally, she explores the digitization of administrative processes to enhance efficiency and transparency.

At the heart of this research lies a strong motivation: to develop technologies that serve humanity, contribute to preserving biodiversity, and help address pressing planetary crises.

Institutional and Advisory Roles

Since 2025                         Member of the Committee on Scientific Library Services and Information
                                             Systems (AWBI) of DFG

Since 2020                         Member of the Universitätsrat, FSU Jena

Since 2018                         Managing Director Michael-Stifel-Center for Data-intensive and
                                             Simulation-based Science Jena

Since 2018                         Member of the Permanent Senate Commission on Fundamental Issues of                                                               Biological Diversity of DFG

2016 – 2019                       Member of the Senate, FSU Jena

Since 2018                         Member of the Scientific Advisory Panel of BioFID

2013 – 2016                       Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, FSU Jena

Since 2013                         Member of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)

Since 2011                         Member of the Steering Committee DFG SPP Biodiversity Exploratories

Academic Service

Birgitta actively contributes to the academic community through peer review, committee work, and conference organization. Her recent engagements include:

• Reviewer for numerous scientific journals
• Evaluator for multiple funding agencies, including DFG, BMBF, BMEL, DAAD, Volkswagen                       Foundation, Carl Zeiss Foundation, and SNF
• Program Committee (PC) Member for various international conferences and workshops
• PC Co-Chair of:
  • BTW 2023
  • BigDS Workshop Series
  • EcoDL 2025