08 April 2024

Erik Sandewall, Professor emeritus and founder of the Department of Computer and Information Science (IDA) has passed away after a short illness. "Erik was a uniquely creative, visionary and internationally renowned researcher", says Henrik Eriksson, head of IDA.

portrait of a man
Erik Sandewall 1945-2024. Photographer: Magnus Johansson

After studies at Uppsala University, the Stanford University Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (USA), and visiting associate professor at the MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (USA), Erik Sandewall became Sweden's first professor in computer science in 1975. In 1983, he and Harold Lawson founded the Department of Computer and Information Science at Linköping University.

Erik Sandewall is most known for his work on non-monotonic reasoning, reasoning about action and change, and cognitive robotics. He was also one of the founders of IJCAI, the International Joint Conference on AI.

"Erik was a uniquely creative, visionary and internationally renowned researcher. In addition to important research contributions in computer science and artificial intelligence, his service to the global AI community, he was also instrumental in the development of higher education in computer science at Linköping University and in Sweden", says Henrik Eriksson, head of IDA.

Over the years, Erik Sandewall received an impressive number of awards and prizes, for example:

  • Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Award to Outstanding Young Researcher,
    1969.
  • Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, Chester Carlson prize, 1985.
  • Knight of the Legion of Honour, France.
  • Doctor Honoris Causa at Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
  • IJCAI, the International Joint Conference on AI, Donald E. Walker Distinguished Service Award, 2016.
  • His Majesty's medal for significant achievements in computer science research with a focus on artificial intelligence, 2024, Sweden.

He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA) and of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA).

Erik is survived by his wife Margareta and their sons Anton and Örjan with families.

Update

On April 25, 2024, a memorial gathering for Erik Sandewall was held at the Department of Computer and Information Science.

Curriculum vitae for Erik Sandewall

Contact

Erik Sandewall conference keynote 2023-06-19

A role for IDA

Erik Sandewall, Professor emeritus at the Department of Computer and Information Science (IDA), spoke about the roots of the department and the developments in the field of artificial intelligence at IDA's celebration of its 40th anniversary.

Organisation

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