Prof Meyer honoured with 2025 SAICSIT Pioneer award

Prof Tommie Meyer was honoured with the 2025 SAICSIT Pioneer award at the organisation's 46th Annual conference that was held in Umhlanga from July 17th to 18th, 2025.

Founded in 1982, the South African Institute for Computer Scientists and Information Technologists (SAICSIT) aims to further the study and application of computer science.

A professor of Computer Science at the University of Cape Town, holder of the DSTI/NRF-UCT Co-funded Research Chair in Symbolic Artificial Intelligence, the Deputy Director of the Artificial Intelligence Research Unit (AIRU), and the Co-Director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research (CAIR), Meyer is recognised internationally as an expert in Knowledge Representation and Reasoning. He is one of only three South African Computer Scientists to have obtained an A-rating from the South African National Research Foundation. 

He is also an editorial board member of the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, a member of the Advisory board of KR Conference series, and a past chair of the International Non-Monotonic Reasoning Workshop series. He has played leadership roles in numerous conferences and workshops related to KR and AI, including all the major conferences and workshops in his area of expertise. This includes being a program committee member, senior program committee member, area chair and program chair. He was instrumental in helping to set up the Southern African Conference for Artificial Intelligence Research (SACAIR). In 2024 he founded the Cape-KR symposium series with the aim of bringing the world’s top KR researchers to South Africa.

One of the main drivers nationally of the research agenda for AI, Meyer was approached by the African Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) of NEPAD (now known as AUDA) in the African Union in 2017 to present an invited presentation on the question of AI in the African context. His presentation in Accra led to the decision to commission an APET report on AI as an emerging technology, to be presented to the African Union parliament. He regularly appears in the media and presents webinars and public talks as a recognised expert on AI.

He is the (co-)author of more than 200 peer-reviewed research outputs (journal papers, book chapters, and papers in conference and workshop proceedings). He has overseen 7 postdoctoral fellowships and supervised 7 PhD students and 20 Master’s students to completion. He is currently supervising 6 PhD students and 9 Master’s students.