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 Herber
Simon,
co-founder of AI
nobel laureate,
dies at 84
Carnegie Mellon University Professor Herbert A. Simon, winner of
the 1978 Nobel Prize in Economics and one of the co-founders of
Artificial Intelligence died today (Feb. 9) at the age of 84.
Simon died at Presbyterian University Hospital of Pittsburgh from
complications from surgery in January. His research ranged from
computer science to psychology, administration and economics. The
thread of continuity through all of his work was his interest in
human decision-making and problem-solving processes and the implications
of these processes for social institutions. He made extensive use
of the computer as a tool for both simulating human thinking and
augmenting it with artificial intelligence. Simon was widely considered
to be a founder of the field of artificial intelligence.
A member of the Carnegie Mellon faculty since 1949, Simon had important
roles in the formation of several of its departments and schools,
including the Graduate School of Industrial Administration, the
School of Computer Science and the College of Humanities and Social
Sciences' Psychology Department, where he was instrumental in the
development of its internationally renowned cognitive science group.
"For more than 50 years, Herb had an enormous impact on the development
of Carnegie Mellon into the major research university it is today,"
said President Jared L. Cohon. "His vision helped to shape some
of the university's world-class schools and departments, such as
the School of Computer Science, the Graduate School of Industrial
Administration and the Psychology Department. And his contributions
extend well beyond the campus. Few, if any, scientists and scholars
in the world have had as great an influence as has Herb across so
many fields~-economics, computer science, psychology and artificial
intelligence among them."
In 1975, he earned the prestigious A.M. Turing Award for his work
in computer science. In 1978, he received the Alfred Nobel Memorial
Prize in Economic Sciences, and in 1986, the National Medal of Science.
In 1993, he won the American Psychological Association Award for
Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology. In 1994, he was
one of only 14 foreign scientists ever to be inducted into the Chinese
Academy of Sciences.
In 1995, two prominent awards were presented to Simon by the International
Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence (the Award for Research
Excellence) and the American Society of Public Administration (the
Dwight Waldo Award). He also was inducted into the Automation Hall
of Fame in Chicago because of his pioneering work in the field of
artificial intelligence. The Automation Hall of Fame at the Chicago
Museum of Science and Technology recognizes individuals who have
made major contributions to the practice and philosophy of manufacturing
technology through advanced methods and research. Some 24 colleges
and universities presented Simon with honorary doctor's degrees.
He received major national awards from the Association for Computing
Machinery, the American Political Science Association, the Academy
of Management, the Operations Research Society and the Institute
of Management Science, among others.
In addition to an immense publications list that includes books
and journal articles, Simon's pursuits in the field of computer
science and psychology were detailed in an autobiography, "Models
of My Life," published in 1991 and re-issued in 1996. Profiles of
Simon or stories about his research appeared in nearly every national
newspaper and several magazines, including Psychology Today, Forbes
magazine and Omni. "Models of Bounded Rationality," Simon~s volume
of economics papers, and "Sciences of the Artificial," about his
work in the field of artificial intelligence, are considered to
be classics.
A fourth edition of "Administrative Behavior" was published in 1997,
the 50th anniversary of its original date of publication.
Born in 1916 in Milwaukee, Simon earned his bachelor's (1936) and
doctor's (1943) degrees in political science at the University of
Chicago. He also held research and faculty positions at the University
of California (Berkeley) and the Illinois Institute of Technology
before coming to Carnegie Mellon. More biographical information
about Simon's many research and teaching interests can be found
HERE.
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