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When artificial intelligence (AI) analyses images, it can be difficult for humans to understand how the AI classifies the individual image elements. To understand, for example, why the AI diagnoses a discrepancy as a certain disease in medical images, it is helpful if the AI explains how it reached its conclusion. The computer scientist Zeynep Akata conducts research in the area of explainable AI and develops AI that combines visual, linguistic, and conceptual elements, and thus makes its decisions comprehensible to humans. In recognition of her achievements, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Commerzbank Foundation honour Akata with the “ZukunftsWissen” Award.
The award, endowed with 50,000 euros, will be presented to her on Thursday, 25 September 2025 in Halle (Saale)/Germany at the Leopoldina Annual Assembly, which this year focuses on the topic of AI.
Professor Dr Zeynep Akata is Professor of Computer Science at the Technical University of Munich/Germany and Director of the Institute for Explainable Machine Learning at Helmholtz Munich. When it comes to image recognition, an AI must use large amounts of data to learn what distinguishes one class from another (for example, a dog from a cat). A common thread in Akata’s research is her innovative combination of images and language to train the AI in this classification. In addition to images, linguistic attributes are used to explain the characteristics of a dog or a cat. This allows the AI to learn from just a few examples in the training data, a process known as low-shot learning. As far back as 2013, Akata developed attribute label embedding (ALE), a zero-shot learning model with which AI can recognise new image classifications based on descriptions alone, without any training data. For example, if an AI is trained using only cat and dog images as well as linguistic descriptions, it can still recognise an image of a zebra if the characteristics of a zebra have previously been described to it. Akata’s current research on explainable AI aims to make AI decisions more comprehensible and thus increase user trust in the technology. For example, when it comes to image classification, the AI explains why an image element was attributed to a particular class (such as the zebra) and shows the relevant characteristics in the image that led to this classification (hooves, stripes, etc.). In her research on generative AI, Akata also developed new methods to automatically create realistic images based on text descriptions.
Zeynep Akata studied technical computer science and media computer science at Trakya University/Turkey and at the RWTH Aachen/Germany. Following her PhD in computer science at the INRIA Rhône-Alpes/France and positions at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Saarbrücken/Germany, the University of California in Berkeley/USA, and the University of Amsterdam/The Netherlands, she held a W3 professorship for computer science at the University of Tübingen/Germany from 2019 to 2023. At the same time, she was conducting research as Senior Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Saarbrücken/Germany and as Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Tübingen/Germany. Since 2024, she has been Liesel Beckmann Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at the Technical University of Munich and Director of the Institute for Explainable Machine Learning at Helmholtz Munich. Akata has already received numerous awards for her research activities, including the Lise Meitner Award for Excellent Women in Computer Science from the Max Planck Society in 2014, the Junior Scientist Award from the Werner-von-Siemens-Ring Foundation in 2019, and the Alfried Krupp Award from the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation in 2023. In addition, Akata received an ERC Starting Grant from the European Commission in 2019. Capital magazine selected her as one of Germany’s “Top 40 under 40” in 2024.
The Leopoldina and the Commerzbank Foundation annually honour outstanding young scientists with the award “ZukunftsWissen – the Early Career Award from the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Commerzbank Foundation”. Endowed with €50,000, the award honours scientists for outstanding achievements in a research field related to the main topic of the respective Leopoldina Annual Assembly and who, at the same time, address forward-looking challenges in their research. The relevance to the topic is broadly defined and may be drawn from any of the disciplines represented at the Leopoldina. Interdisciplinary research is particularly welcome. The prize winner gives a public lecture at the Annual Assembly. Further information is available here: https://www.leopoldina.org/en/about-us/distinctions-of-the-academy/awards-and-ho...
The “ZukunftsWissen” Award will be presented to Zeynep Akata during the Leopoldina Annual Assembly in Halle (Saale) on Thursday, 25 September 2025. This year’s event focuses on the topic of artificial intelligence: https://www.leopoldina.org/en//annual-assembly-2025
The Leopoldina on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/leopoldina.org
The Leopoldina on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nationalakademieleopoldina
The Leopoldina on X: https://www.twitter.com/leopoldina
About the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina:
As the German National Academy of Sciences, the Leopoldina provides independent science-based policy advice on matters relevant to society. To this end, the Academy develops interdisciplinary statements based on scientific findings. In these publications, options for action are outlined; making decisions, however, is the responsibility of democratically legitimized politicians. The experts who prepare the statements work in a voluntary and unbiased manner. The Leopoldina represents the German scientific community in the international academy dialogue. This includes advising the annual summits of Heads of State and Government of the G7 and G20 countries. With around 1,700 members from more than 30 countries, the Leopoldina combines expertise from almost all research areas. Founded in 1652, it was appointed the National Academy of Sciences of Germany in 2008. The Leopoldina is committed to the common good.
About the Commerzbank Foundation:
For more than 50 years, the Commerzbank Foundation has been supporting projects in the areas of culture, social affairs and science nationwide with the aim of assuming responsibility towards fellow human beings and making a lasting contribution to a sustainable society. As an actively supporting foundation it works with experienced partners whose initiatives have a nationwide impact. A major concern of the Commerzbank Foundation is to enable social participation and strengthen cultural education. Further information about the Commerzbank Foundation can be found here: https://www.commerzbank-stiftung.de
Media contact Leopoldina:
Julia Klabuhn
Acting Head of the Press and Public Relations Department
Tel: +49 (0)345 472 39-800
Email: presse@leopoldina.org
Contact Commerzbank Foundation:
Heike Heuberger
Tel: + 49 (0)69 9353 39629
Email: commerzbank-stiftung@commerzbank.com
https://www.leopoldina.org/leopoldina-home/
Professor Dr Zeynep Akata, “ZukunftsWissen – the Early Career Award from the German National Academy ...
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Professor Dr Zeynep Akata, “ZukunftsWissen – the Early Career Award from the German National Academy ...
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