This is the first time a UAI member receives this award, a sign that UAI
methods and philosophy are becoming more accepted to general AI.
It should raise morale and reflect positively on each UAI project,
especially in light of the fact that UAI was formed in 1985 because there
was no adequate trek to discuss uncertainty within the AI conferences
at that time.
I am thrilled about the change that took place.
Dan Geiger
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The IJCAI Award for Research Excellence and the Computers and Thought
Award are made by the IJCAII Board of Trustees, upon recommendation by
the IJCAI Awards Selection Committee, which consisted this year of
Daniel Bobrow (Palo Alto, USA)
C. Raymond Perrault (Palo Alto, USA)
Ross Quinlan (Sydney, Australia)
Erik Sandewall (Linkoeping, Sweden)
Wolfgang Wahlster (Saarbruecken, Germany, Chair)
The IJCAI Awards Selection Committee receives advice from members of the
IJCAI Awards Review Committee, who comment on the accuracy of the
nomination material and provide additional information about the nominees.
The IJCAI Awards Review Committee is the union of the former Trustees
of IJCAII, the IJCAI-99 Advisory Committee, the Program Chairs of the
last three IJCAI conferences, and the past recipients of the IJCAI Award
for Research Excellence and the IJCAI Distinguished Service Award,
with nominees excluded.
IJCAI Award for Research Excellence
The IJCAI Award for Research Excellence is given at the IJCAI
conference to a scientist who has carried out a program of research of
consistently high quality, yielding several substantial results. Past
recipients of this award are John McCarthy (1985), Allen Newell
(1989), Marvin Minsky (1991), Raymond Reiter (1993), Herbert Simon
(1995), and Aravind Joshi (1997).
The winner of the 1999 IJCAI Award for Research Excellence is Judea
Pearl, Professor at the Computer Science Department of the University
of California Los Angeles, USA. Professor Pearl is recognized for his
fundamental work on heuristic search, reasoning under uncertainty, and
causality. He will deliver a lecture entitled "Reasoning with Cause
and Effect" in the evening of August 5, 1999.