Professor Gerd Van Riel, Dean of the Institute of Philosophy at KU Leuven (Belgium), studied Classics and Philosophy, gaining his PhD from KU Leuven in 1997. He now teaches ancient philosophy and metaphysics, as well as introductory courses to philosophy. His research focuses on Plato and the Platonic tradition. Van Riel was a research fellow at CNRS Paris, at Melbourne University, and he was the 2017 Thomas F. Martin Saint Augustine Fellow at Villanova University
(PA, USA). He was Chair holder of a Francqui research professorship from 2015 until 2018. He is a member of the Royal Belgian Academy for Sciences and the Arts.