We are delighted to announce that ten members of ELLIS site Amsterdam have received official approval as ELLIS Fellows and Scholars. This milestone reflects the outstanding scientific calibre of our community and the growing role ELLIS Amsterdam plays within Europe’s premier machine learning research network. Four researchers join as Fellows and five as Scholars, spanning natural language processing, computer vision, probabilistic machine learning, information retrieval, and computational neuroscience.
A huge congratulations to Christof Monz, Efstratios Gavves, Ekaterina Shutova, Jan-Willem van de Meent, Christian Andersson Naesseth, Iris Groen, Madelon Hulsebos, Mohammad Aliannejadi, Pascal Mettes, and Sandro Pezzelle — this recognition is richly deserved.
Having them as part of the ELLIS network deepens our connections across Europe and opens up new possibilities for collaboration to advance the frontiers of AI.
About ELLIS
ELLIS — the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems — is a Europe-wide initiative that brings together the continent’s leading machine learning researchers. ELLIS builds connections across borders and supports science that matters both academically and for society. The ELLIS site Amsterdam, affiliated with the University of Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam), and Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), is one of the network’s pioneering units. Our founding director, Max Welling, is also a co-founder of the ELLIS Society network. The ELLIS site Amsterdam researchers work on a wide range of AI topics, from the mathematical foundations of deep learning to real-world applications in language and vision.
The ELLIS Nomination and Evaluation Process
Candidates are assessed independently by at least two existing Fellows or Scholars from different countries — keeping the process international and free from local bias. Each reviewer scores candidates on three dimensions, each carrying real weight in the outcome.
Scientific Excellence looks at the depth and breadth of a researcher’s contributions to machine learning and intelligent systems: a strong publication record at top-tier venues, research impact (including a handful of highly cited papers), prestigious grants and awards, leadership roles such as serving as area or programme chair at major conferences, and invited talks and tutorials.
Societal Impact goes beyond academic output. Reviewers look for work that reaches the wider world: involvement with startups or projects with measurable real-world impact, advisory roles with governments, industry or ethics committees, meaningful media presence, and outreach activities such as promoting diversity and inclusion in STEM.
Relationship to ELLIS asks how meaningfully a candidate is connected to the broader network, including concrete collaborations with existing Fellows or Scholars at other sites — joint publications, co-supervised students, or active participation in ELLIS programmes.
New ELLIS Fellows
Fellowship is the highest level of ELLIS membership. Fellows are outstanding senior researchers, typically with more than ten years of post-PhD experience, who have made significant and lasting contributions to machine learning. Beyond their scientific track record, Fellows commit to acting as ambassadors for ELLIS — providing strategic advice and leadership not just scientifically, but in helping to build and grow the network across Europe.
The new Fellows associated with the ELLIS Amsterdam are:
- Christof Monz https://staff.fnwi.uva.nl/c.monz/
- Efstratios Gavves https://www.egavves.com/
- Ekaterina Shutova https://www.shutova.org/
- Jan-Willem van de Meent https://jwvdm.github.io/
New ELLIS Scholars
Scholar status recognises outstanding scientists who are earlier in their careers — often assistant professors, typically with up to ten years of post-PhD experience. Scholars are on a clear upward trajectory and are expected to progress toward Fellowship as their careers develop. The level of excellence expected is comparable to what ERC grants or leading research institutions look for.
The new Scholars associated with the ELLIS Amsterdam are:
- Christian Andersson Naesseth https://naesseth.github.io/
- Iris Groen https://sites.google.com/view/irisgroen
- Madelon Hulsebos https://www.madelonhulsebos.com/
- Mohammad Aliannejadi https://aliannejadi.com/
- Pascal Mettes https://staff.fnwi.uva.nl/p.s.m.mettes/
- Sandro Pezzelle https://sandropezzelle.github.io/