Yesterday, we received the sad news that Prof. Bob Wielinga passed away. Bob was my promotor and a true mentor to me and many other Dutch AI researchers and he will be sorely missed.

When I first met Bob as lecturer of the UvA course Knowledge Systems he looked like a ‘real’ professor, with a big white beard and dressed in a dark suit. When later he became my Ph.D. supervisor I found out just how much of a powerhouse he was. He was very humble but at international conferences people mentioned his name with appropriate reverence. He was a very patient and supporting mentor to me and my colleagues and I learned so much from him. Bob was always truly interested in the work of all his students and colleagues, no matter how diverse. He was the only one that could have held such a diverse group of researchers in the SWI group (the later HCS) together.

 

Artificial Intelligence in the Netherlands has lost one of its greats.