| SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
Program Overview | Participating Universities/Educational Institutions | Application Procedure
Program Coordinators | Contact
  Herbert A. Simon
1916-2001
Biography

Herbert A. Simon, the Richard King Mellon University Professor of Computer Science and Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, had an illustrious 52-year career in artificial intelligence, psychology, administration, economics and philosophy. The thread of continuity through all his work was his deep interest in human decision-making and problem-solving processes, and the implications of these processes for social institutions.

For more than 40 years, he made extensive use of the computer as a tool for both simulating human thinking and augmenting it with artificial intelligence.

Born in 1916 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Simon was educated in political science at the University of Chicago (B.A., 1936, Ph.D., 1943). He held research and faculty positions at the University of California (Berkeley), Illinois Institute of Technology, and from 1949 until his death, Carnegie Mellon University, where he was Richard King Mellon University Professor of Computer Science and Psychology. Simon served 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.

During his career, Simon received worldwide acclaim and numerous honors. In 1975, he earned the prestigious A.M. Turing Award (with Allen Newell) of the American Association for Computing Machinery for his contributions to computer science. In 1978, he received the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, and in 1986, the National Medal of Science. In 1988, he was presented with the John von Neumann Theory Prize of ORSA/TIMS; and in 1995, the Research Excellence Award of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence. In 1993, he won the American Psychological Association Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology and 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 for his pioneering work in the field of artificial intelligence. Simon 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's books include:

  • Administrative Behavior Human Problem Solving, jointly with Allen Newell
  • The Sciences of the Artificial; Scientific Discovery, with Patrick Langley, Gary Bradshaw, and Jan Zytkow
  • Models of Bounded Rationality (three volumes of his collected economics papers)
  • Models of Thought (two volumes of collected psychology papers)
  • Models of Discovery (a volume of papers on philosophy of science)
  • and his autobiography, Models of My Life.
Program Overview

The goal of the China-Carnegie Mellon University program is to promote and influence next-generation Chinese academic leaders in Computer Science.

Herbert Simon found a vital scholarly link to his colleagues in China, but also a profound and life-enduring cultural fascination. He subscribed to the view that science knows no geographic boundaries. We all share a common goal and passion to see true knowledge and expertise arise from our individual and collective efforts. He understood that science and the exchange of ideas bridged boarders; that the definition of worthwhile problems, the path to solutions, and the incorporation of new ideas into the breadth of computer science are enhanced by cross-culture relations and exchanges.

The Simon-Scholar program is designed to bring exceptional young professors (lecturers, assistant professors, and assoicate professors) at leading Computer Science Departments in China to visit Carnegie Mellon for 6 to 12 months. Carnegie Mellon will match each scholar with a host professor, and together they will conduct research of mutual interest. This program is supported by The Chinese Ministry of Education, The China Scholarship Council, and Carnegie Mellon University.

Participating Chinese Universities
Application Procedure

Scholar candidates must submit, through their home institution, an application to the China Scholarship Council (CSD) for submission to the Review Committee. Details

In addition, candidates are required to send an electronic application to:simon-scholar-application@cs.cmu.edu

The application must include:

  • Career Vitae of the candidate
  • 3 recent and representative publications
  • A research proposal describing the proposal research and names of potential Carnegie Mellon host professors
  • Additional supporting materials, such as reference letters

The Review Committee will select the scholars based on the merits of of the applicants and the potential of their proposed research topics.

Important dates:

  • 15 March 2006: Application deadline
  • 15 June 2006: Notification of Scholar Selection
  • Sept 2006: Visitor Program begins
Program Coordinators

Yaoxue Zhang, Co-ordinator
Director of Higher Education, Ministry of Education
Tsinghua University

Hui Zhang, Co-ordinator
Professor of Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University

Chinese Committee Members:

 


Carnegie Mellon University Committee Members:

  • Manuel Blum, Bruce Nelson Professor of Computer Science, Computer Science Department
  • Randal E. Bryant, University Professor of Computer Science and Dean, School of Computer Science
  • Garth Gibson, Associate Professor of Computer Science and
    Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Bruce M. Maggs, Professor of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Raj Reddy, Mozah Bint Nasser University Professor of Computer Science and Robotics
  • Daniel P. Siewiorek, Director, Human-Computer Interaction Institute and Buhl University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science
  • Jeannette Wing, President's Professor of Computer Science
    Computer Science, Department Head
  • Hui Zhang, Coordinator, Professor of Computer Science
Contact

Hui Zhang, Program Chair

412-268 8945 (phone)
412-268-6714 (fax)

hzhang cs.cmu.edu