mccoy@aristotle.ils.nwu.edu (Jim McCoy) (12/12/89)
NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES THE FORMATION OF THE INSTITUTE FOR THE LEARNING SCIENCES The Institute for the Learning Sciences at Northwestern University is an interdisciplinary center devoted to research in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and education and educational software. Reflecting its interdisciplinary nature, the faculty of the Institute is drawn from several different departments and schools at Northwestern, including the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, the School of Education and Social Policy, and the Department of Psychology. The Institute was formed in September, 1989, under the direction of Professor Roger C. Schank, and is currently home to approximately 50 researchers, including 25 graduate students. The Institute for the Learning Sciences coordinates a graduate program leading to a Ph.D. in any of three fields: Computer Science, Psychology, or Education. Graduate students will follow a core curriculum for the first year which is independent of the particular Ph.D. they have decided to pursue. In general, 3-6 quarter courses will be taken in the second year, based on consultation with the student and the student's advisor. The majority of the second year and remainder of the graduate career are dedicated to research under the direction of the faculty of the Institute. Fields of study related to the Institute: The Institute's mission encompasses both basic and applied research, including a major focus on the application of artificial intelligence to problems of education and training. The Institute staff includes professional programmers devoted to the development of educational software systems for schools and corporate training. Other key research areas include: - Scientific problems of language, thought, and memory. - The construction of computer programs that reason, learn, conduct conversations, display characteristics of human memory, plan, and contain realistic models of the world. - Understanding how children learn language, learn to think, plan and reason. - Education, especially the development of effective teaching methods. - Computer vision. - Models of emotion, human problem-solving and decision-making. Faculty members, department and research interests: Roger C. Schank, Director Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Psychology, and Education and Social Policy; AI in education; memory processing, case-based reasoning; natural language. Lawrence Birnbaum Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Natural language understanding; opportunistic planning; acquisition of planning strategies. Allan Collins Education and Social Policy; Computers and education; human semantic information processing; teaching and learning. Gregg Collins Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Machine learning, planning, problem-solving. Paul Cooper Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Connectionist models; computer vision. Lawrence Henschen Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Automated reasoning and inference; logic and applications. Marvin Manheim J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management; Computer-assisted human problem solving; use of information technologies in organizations; manufacturing, logistics, transportation, and global enterprise. Gail McKoon Psychology; Psycholinguistics, memory, cognition. Andrew Ortony Education and Social Policy, and Psychology; Knowledge representation; language comprehension; models of cognition, emotion, and motivation. Roger Ratcliff Psychology; Memory; language and cognition; mathematical and connectionist modeling. William Revelle Psychology; Interrelationships of personality, motivation, and cognitive performance. Christopher K. Riesbeck Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Natural language analysis; case-based reasoning; intelligent interfaces for training and tutoring. Dirk Ruiz J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management; Learning; problem-solving; integrated cognitive architectures (SOAR); managerial cognition. Applications for the Ph.D. program are currently being accepted for Fall, 1990. Full funding is available, including summer support. Preferred applicants will have practical experience in a relevant area, such as computer programming or classroom education, an undergraduate degree in a field of study related to the Institute's research mission, and a record of high academic achievement. For additional information, write to the Graduate Programs Coordinator at The Institute for the Learning Sciences, Northwestern University, 1890 Maple Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201 Phone (708) 491-3500.