Return to Previous Press Release
Enter your name and a friend's email address in the fields below and click "Submit" to email this Press Release to a friend.
Your message will look like this:
[YOUR NAME HERE] thought you might be interested in this story from the University of Rochester.
MEDIA CONTACT: Tom Rickey, (585) 275-7954
July 21, 1994
Lenhart Schubert, professor of computer science at the University of Rochester, has been named a fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence.
Schubert graduated from the University of Toronto, where he earned degrees in applied physics and aerospace studies, areas that required heavy numerical calculations. As a result he became interested in computers and their potential for doing reasoning.
"These were the early days of the field of artificial intelligence, and it was very exciting," says Schubert, who has been with the University since 1988. He notes how difficult it is to create a computer that can use ordinary language and do common-sense reasoning.
"There has been rapid progress on what people think of as extremely difficult challenges: building good chess programs, or expert systems for geological prospecting or financial advising.
"But these are much easier than emulating the ordinary capabilities that people have to cope with the world around them and to communicate. Language, for instance, is very subtle and rich, yet we pick it up as children with no apparent effort. The things that seem easiest to people are the ones hardest for computers to learn. That is the most profound challenge." tr Note to editors: Schubert lives in Rochester.
The University of Rochester (www.rochester.edu) is one of the nation's leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering is complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, and the Memorial Art Gallery.
PR 431, MS 0