To members of UAI-List,
I was sad to receive this mesg yesterday, announcing the
death of Herbert Simon, one of the founders of AI. He died
yesterday at the age of 84.
His ideas on human decision-making, bounded rationality and
causal reasoning are very much alive.
=======Judea
Date: Fri, 09 Feb 2001 15:17:36 -0500
To: scs-all@cs.cmu.edu
From: "James H. Morris" <James.Morris@cs.cmu.edu>
Subject: Information regarding Dr. Herbert Simon
NOBEL LAUREATE HERBERT A. SIMON DIES AT AGE 84
Carnegie Mellon University Professor Herbert A. Simon, winner of the
1978 Nobel Prize in Economics and many prestigious international
scientific awards for his work in cognitive psychology and computer
science, 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."
"No one in Carnegie Mellon's history more heavily influenced the
university's intellectual and scholarly approach or its academic culture
as much as Herb Simon," said former university President Robert
Mehrabian.
During his distinguished career, Simon received international acclaim
and many honors.
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.
Simon was a Fellow or member of many prominent professional and academic
organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American
Association for Artificial Intelligence, the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
the American Economic Association, the American Psychological
Association, the Econometric Society, the International Academy of
Management, and the academic and scientific honoraries Phi Beta Kappa
and Sigma Xi. He also was an honorary member of the British
Psychological Society.
Simon was an emeritus life trustee of Carnegie Mellon, where he had been
a member of the board since 1973. Until his recent illness, Simon was
actively teaching and doing research at Carnegie Mellon.
This past fall, Carnegie Mellon honored Simon by naming its new computer
science facility after him and the late Computer Science Professor Allen
Newell. Both were recognized as founders of the fields of artificial
intelligence and cognitive psychology. At a symposium in his honor,
Simon commented extensively on the role of computing in the future. A
full text of his remarks can be found at: www.ulib.org
During his career, Simon has advised governments, business and industry.
Speaking invitations took him all over the world and close to home.
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 at:
http://www.psy.cmu.edu/psy/faculty/hsimon/hsimon.html
He is survived by his wife, Dorothea P. Simon, and three children,
Katherine Simon Frank of Minneapolis, Peter A. Simon of Bryan, Tex., and
Barbara M. Simon of Wilder, Vt., six grandchildren, three
step-grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Friends will be received from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 11,
at the Samson Funeral Home, 537 North Neville St. Burial will be
private.
A memorial service is being planned for the university community. Plans
will be announced.
The family requests in lieu of flowers that donations in Dr. Simon's
memory be made to Carnegie Mellon University, the First Unitarian Church
of Pittsburgh, Morewood Avenue, Oakland, or a charity of the donor~s
choice.
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