ERCIM News 143
January 2026
Special theme AI for Science
Guest editors Edina Nemeth (SZTAKI) and Alexandre Termier (University of Rennes – Inria/IRISA, France)
AI for Science - Introduction to the Special Theme
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by the guest editors Edina Nemeth (SZTAKI) and Alexandre Termier (University of Rennes – Inria/IRISA, France)
Advancing Discovery, Enhancing Trustworthiness, and Reshaping Scientific Practices
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the way science is conducted. From accelerating the discovery of new materials to modeling complex climate systems and supporting biomedical research, AI has become an essential tool for advancing knowledge. By enabling more efficient data analysis, powerful simulations, and new forms of hypothesis generation, AI helps researchers tackle problems that were previously too complex or time-consuming to solve.
Enhancing Reviewer Identification with AI
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by René Berndt, Hillary Farmer and Eva Eggeling (Fraunhofer Austria)
Improving the reviewer selection process for conferences and journals using AI and large language models (LLMs) can significantly enhance both efficiency and quality. AI-driven systems can analyse manuscripts and match them with potential reviewers based on their expertise, publication history, and prior reviewing experience. By leveraging semantic understanding rather than relying solely on manually assigned keywords, LLMs enable more accurate and nuanced reviewer–paper alignment.
AI Assistant for Research Topic Selection in Higher Education
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by Rita Stampfl (University of Applied Sciences Burgenland), Barbara Geyer (University of Applied Sciences Burgenland)
At the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland, a GPT-based chatbot has been developed to support students in creating research topic proposals for scientific papers. Large Language Models like GPT-4 enable interactive conversations, allowing chatbots to facilitate complex learning processes and provide personalised learning experiences. In the rapidly changing educational landscape, specially designed educational chatbots are gaining importance. This trend, combined with the accessibility of Large Language Models and the ability to create GPTs without programming knowledge, opens new possibilities for integration them into learning environments. To ensure these chatbots function as intelligent tutors rather than simple question-answer machines, appropriate instruction is essential.
Developing Human-Centred Trustworthy AI as Infrastructure for Reliable Decision Support
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by Susie Ruston McAleer (21c) and Spiros Borotis (Maggioli S.p.A)
THEMIS 5.0 is generating evidence, tools, and methods that help scientific communities evaluate when AI systems can be trusted. Through pilots in healthcare, maritime operations, and journalism, the project is exploring how trustworthiness assessments can help organizations take up AI in a responsible manner.
A Human-Centred AI Approach to Data-Driven Scientific Discovery
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by Christian Beecks (FernUniversität in Hagen) and Markus Lange-Hegermann (Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe)
Data-driven scientific discovery increasingly relies on artificial intelligence. This article presents a human-centred data science framework based on Gaussian process models which enable the extraction of interpretable, uncertainty-aware insights while keeping the data scientist in control of the discovery process.
SemanticRAG: Traceable Answers from Documents and Knowledge Graphs
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by Iordanis Sapidis, Michalis Mountantonakis and Yannis Tzitzikas (FORTH-ICS and University of Crete)
SemanticRAG [1] is an interactive QA system that answers questions using both documents and Knowledge Graphs. To mitigate the black-box nature of LLMs, it provides provenance for every answer, citing the exact document snippet or KG triple from which it originates so users can verify each claim.
Foundation Models and Trustworthy AI for Environmental Systems
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by George Hatzivasilis and Sotirios Ioannidis (Technical University of Crete) and François Hamon (Greencityzen)
Environmental sciences increasingly rely on AI foundation models to integrate heterogeneous data and support sustainable decision-making. Their real-world impact, however, depends on security, trustworthiness, and resilient deployment, as illustrated by secure smart watering systems.
Biological Reservoir Computing: Harnessing Living Neurons for AI
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by Luca Ciampi, Ludovico Iannello, Giuseppe Amato (CNR-ISTI), Federico Cremisi and Fabrizio Tonelli (Scuola Normale Superiore Pisa)
Can living neurons compute? Researchers from CNR-ISTI, CNR-IBF, and Bio@SNS introduce a pioneering approach in which cultured neuronal networks act as reservoirs for pattern recognition. This bio-hybrid paradigm aims to bridge neuroscience and machine learning, opening new pathways towards interpretable and energy-efficient AI.
Blockchain Energy Costs for AI-Driven Scientific Infrastructure
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by Enrico Barbierato and Matteo Montrucchio (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart)
Blockchains are often proposed as trustworthy backbones for AI-driven science, yet their energy costs remain poorly understood. As research infrastructures scale, these costs become a constraint rather than a footnote. This article asks what blockchain energy consumption really implies for sustainable scientific computing.
Accuracy Is Not Enough: Computational Efficiency and Scientific Knowledge in AI
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by Enrico Barbierato and Alice Gatti (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart)
AI models are becoming ever larger and more energy-intensive, raising questions about how scientific knowledge is produced. This article argues that computational efficiency is essential for reproducible, transparent and sustainable AI-driven science.
Lightweight On-Device AI as Scientific Infrastructure for Universally Designed Augmented Reality Research
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by Attila Bekkvik Szentirmai (University of South-Eastern Norway)
A browser-based augmented reality research platform demonstrates how lightweight, on-device AI can function as scientific infrastructure. By lowering technical and ethical barriers, it enables fast, privacy-preserving experimentation with computational sensing in real-world settings and across diverse user groups.
What Promises do AI Hold for Computational Imaging?
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by Tristan van Leeuwen, Felix Lucka and Ezgi Demircan-Tureyen (CWI)
An image says more than a 1000 thousand words, it is said. This also holds true in many scientific applications, where 2D, 3D, or even 4D images are analysed. But how do we compute images from raw measurements, and can AI help us improve? At CWI’s Computational Imaging group in Amsterdam, mathematicians and computer scientists are trying to answer these questions.
Detecting Small Changes in 3D Aerial Scans: A Hybrid Approach for Real Urban Environments
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by Tatjana Ćeranić, Stephan Schraml and Philip Taupe (AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH)
Reliable detection of small, local changes in real airborne laser scanning data remains difficult with current 3D change-detection techniques. Off-the-shelf methods often overlook subtle modifications or flag too many false positives. By combining semantics with geometry-based and deep-learning methods, we aim to improve robustness in noisy, cluttered settings.
Fully Automated Detection of Harmful Cyanobacteria Blooms in Lakes Using Photo Traps and Machine Learning
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by Jean-Baptiste Burnet and Olivier Parisot (LIST)
Cyanobacteria blooms pose growing risks to drinking water supplies and recreational waters, a challenge intensified by climate change and inadequately captured by current regulatory monitoring strategies. Our study demonstrates how low-cost, ground-based RGB cameras combined with machine learning enable near real-time detection of blooms. By deploying automated photo traps and YOLO-based detection models at a major freshwater reservoir in Luxembourg, we open new pathways for early warning systems and improved understanding of harmful cyanobacteria bloom dynamics.
AI-enhanced Operational Picture for Public Safety Operations from Heterogeneous Information Sources
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by Julia Pöschl, Philip Taupe, Jakob Hurst (AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH)
Staying informed is crucial for decision-makers, particularly in time-critical domains such as disaster response and public safety. The Enhanced Language Interpreter (ELI) presented here supports decision-makers in making use of information that is available but cumbersome to process. It analyses heterogeneous inputs using large language models and knowledge graphs and converts them into a concise representation tailored to the target domain, thereby enhancing the operational picture of the situation.
Context-Guided Evolutionary Algorithms for Consensus Inference of Gene Regulatory Networks
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by Adrián Segura Ortiz, José García-Nieto and Ismael Navas Delgado (ITIS Software, University of Málaga)
The resulting consensus networks are more robust and interpretable, enabling deeper insights into complex disease mechanisms.
Learning Wind-Turbine Wakes with Generative Adversarial Networks
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by Jamal Toutouh (University of Málaga, Spain), Sergio Nesmachnow (Universidad de la República, Uruguay), Martín Draper (Universidad de la República, Uruguay), and Maximiliano Bove (Universidad de la República, Uruguay)
Data-driven and physics-informed generative adversarial networks provide fast surrogates for wind-turbine wakes, bridging high-fidelity simulation and wind farm design.
Bridging Modelling Scales with AI: Deep Learning – Enhanced Multi-Scale Simulations of Molecular Systems
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by Eleftherios Christofi (The Cyprus Institute) Vagelis Harmandaris (The Cyprus Institute, University of Crete and FORTH-IACM)
By enhancing multi-scale molecular simulations with deep learning, AI is enabling researchers to bridge modelling scales that were once out of reach. This synergy opens new possibilities for understanding complex materials and accelerating scientific discovery.
Inclusion is not Optional: Building Diverse and Sustainable Futures in Science
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- Category: Joint ERCIM Actions
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In this interview, Miriam Santos from the University of Porto and winner of the 2025 ERCIM Cor Baayen Award shares her perspective on why inclusion and diversity are essential for responsible science and technology. Drawing on her academic journey and her experience as founder of As Raparigas do Código, she reflects on the challenges of sustaining volunteer-driven initiatives, the lessons learned along the way, and the concrete actions research institutes and universities can take to foster more inclusive academic environments.
Inclusive Digital Futures: Developing Technology and Culture - A new ERCIM Working Group
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by Magdalini Chatzaki (FORTH-ICS)
ERCIM has launched a new Working Group on Inclusive Digital Futures: Developing Technology and Culture to embed inclusion at the core of digital research, education and innovation. It brings together researchers, administrators and leaders to drive systemic and lasting change across the ICT ecosystem.
ERCIM Forum “Beyond Compliance” 2025
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by Anaëlle Martin (CCNEN – French National Digital Ethics Advisory Committee)
The fourth edition of the ERCIM Forum “Beyond Compliance” [L1] was held from 29 to 31 October 2025 at the Inria Centre in Rennes. Returning to France after the inaugural edition in Paris in 2022 [L2], the Forum once again provided an international platform for discussion on ethical issues in digital research and innovation.
First Workshop of the ERCIM Working Group on Quantum Technologies
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by Carlo Mastroianni (CNR-ICAR) and José Francisco Chicano García (UMA)
On 2 December 2025, the inaugural workshop of the newly established ERCIM Working Group (WG) on Quantum Technologies (QT) was held at the Lloyd’s Baia Hotel in Vietri sul Mare, Italy. Organised as a central part of the XXI ICAR-CNR workshop, this event brought together experts and stakeholders to discuss the future of quantum computing, communication, and sensing. The meeting was sponsored by the National Quantum Science and Technology Institute (NQSTI) and supported by the newly formed WG, marking a significant milestone in ERCIM's commitment to the emerging quantum economy.
A New ERCIM Working Group on Artificial Intelligence & Intelligent Systems (AIIS)
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by Giuseppe Manco (CNR) and the AIIS Working Group founding members
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the way we build software, run critical infrastructures, and deliver public services. From healthcare and mobility to cybersecurity and environmental monitoring, AI systems are becoming core components of Europe’s digital ecosystem. At the same time, the growing adoption of data-driven and foundation-model technologies is exposing major scientific and societal challenges: ensuring robustness, transparency, fairness, accountability, and alignment with European values and regulations.
SmartCityHub, an Enabler for Trusted AI Solutions
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- Category: Research and Innovation
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by Andrés Meléndez Imaz, Thomas Tamisier (LIST)
SmartCityHub acts as a structured bridge between cities and AI solutions providers through a multi-phase lifecycle designed to minimise risk and maximize scalability. It provides a testing platform within a controlled environment and ensures regulatory compliance and safety before deployment.
Analyzing Social Engineering Automation
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- Category: Research and Innovation
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by Dominik Dana (St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences), Sebastian Schrittwieser (University of Vienna, JRC AsTra), Peter Kieseberg (St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences)
In order to analyse the practical capabilities and limitations of automated social engineering, we conducted a practical study covering more than 140 open-source tools. In order to achieve comparability, we provided an abstract model based on extracting the relevant aspects of the most important attack modelling frameworks.
In Memoriam Keith G. Jeffery
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In Memoriam
Keith G. Jeffery
Keith G. Jeffery passed away on 15 January 2026. He served the European research community, and ERCIM in particular, with long-standing commitment over several decades.
Dagstuhl Seminars and Perspectives Workshops
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Call for Proposals
Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik is accepting proposals for scientific seminars/workshops in all areas of computer science, in particular also in connection with other fields.
Fraunhofer–Bessel Research Award
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Call for Nominations
Since 2005, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft have jointly awarded the Fraunhofer–Bessel Research Award to internationally recognised researchers for outstanding scientific achievements. The award is endowed with €45,000 and enables recipients to carry out collaborative research at a Fraunhofer Institute in Germany for a total period of six to twelve months, which may be divided into multiple stays.
2nd AIOTI Workshop on Semantic Interoperability for Digital Twins - CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
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Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, 24–25 March 2026
The 2nd AIOTI Annual Workshop on Semantic Interoperability for Digital Twins, with a special focus on reusability and compliance, will take place on 24–25 March 2026 in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, hosted by IHP GmbH – Leibniz-Institut für innovative Mikroelektronik.
FMICS 2026: 31st International Conference on Formal Methods for Industrial Critical Systems - Call for Papers
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Liverpool, UK, 2-4 September 2026
FMICS is the annual conference of the ERCIM Working Group on Formal Methods for Industrial Critical Systems, and it is the key conference in the intersection of industrial applications and Formal Methods.
SAFECOMP 2026 45th International Conference on Computer Safety, Reliability and Security - CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS
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Valencia, Spain, 22–25 September 2026
The 45th edition of the International Conference on Computer Safety, Reliability and Security (SafeComp 2026), to be held in Valencia in September 2026, will focus on the theme “Engineering safe and sustainable computing systems”, addressing the challenge of combining safety, security and sustainability in computing infrastructures. Founded in 1979, this conference brings together experts to share advances, experiences, and trends in the safety, reliability, and sustainability of critical systems.
21st International EWICS / ERCIM Workshop on Dependable Smart Embedded Cyber-Physical Systems and Systems-of-Systems (DECSoS 2026) - PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT
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Valencia, Spain, 22–25 September 2026
The DECSoS Workshop continues an initiative of the ERCIM-DES Working Group and has been successfully sustained over the years. Held in conjunction with SAFECOMP 2026, it follows a well-established tradition dating back to 2006. Originally focused on embedded systems and their dependability properties, the workshop evolved to emphasise cyber-physical systems, reflecting closer links to physics, mechatronics, and interaction with partly unpredictable environments.
Reclaiming Software Engineering as a Key Enabler of the Digital Age
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Position Paper
A joint Informatics Europe / ERCIM Working Group on Software Research has published the position paper “Reclaiming Software Engineering as the Enabling Technology for the Digital Age.” The paper argues that software engineering must be recognised as a foundational enabling technology underpinning advances across artificial intelligence, data-driven systems, cyber-physical systems, and digital infrastructures.