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Institute for the Learning Sciences

Artificial Intelligence/Computational Media 

Ph.D. Program in Computer Science

Northwestern University
Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

The Institute for the Learning Sciences is an interdisciplinary center devoted
to research in artificial intelligence (AI), cognitive science, education, and
educational software.  Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature, the faculty of
the Institute is drawn from several 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 25 research faculty, 40
graduate students, and 30 research staff.

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.  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; the understanding of 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; and qualitative reasoning
about physical systems.

For further information on this Ph.D. program please contact Tina Turnbull
(tina@ils.nwu.edu).  To obtain an application for admission and financial aid,
contact the Northwestern Graduate School at 708-491-7331.

Core Courses

727-C25-1  Artificial Intelligence Programming I
Basics of Lisp, including Lisp syntax and semantics, built-in functions and
predicates, defining functions and macros, list and symbol manipulation
functions, conditionals, iteration and recursion, list-driven loops,
input/output, and record structures.  Basics of knowledge-based AI, including
abstraction hierarchies, frames, partial matching, and indexed memory.
727-C37 Natural Language Processing
A semantics-oriented introduction to natural language processing, broadly
construed.  Representation of meaning and knowledge, inference in story
understanding, script/frame theory, plans and plan recognition,
counterplanning, and thematic structures.
727-D37-1 Advanced Natural Language Processing I
Continuation of 727-C37.  Techniques for natural language analysis, discourse
planning, generation, and advanced problems in NLP.
727-D37-2 Advanced Natural Language Processing II
The role of memory in understanding and learning: remindings, expectation
failures, memory organization, and thematic structures.
205-D51 Topics in Educational Processes
Cognitive antecedents and motivational consequences of emotional states from a
cognitive science perspective.  Basic emotions, qualitative and quantitative
differences, appraisal and arousal, and principal functions of emotions.
451-C28 Cognitive Psychology
An overview and brief historical review of major developments in cognitive
psychology.  Theories, experimental techniques, distinctions, empirical
phenomena, and current debates.
Advanced Courses:
727-C25-2 Artificial Intelligence Programming II
727-C44 Design of Computer Problem Solvers
727-D32 Advanced Topics in Computer Vision
727-E10 Seminar: Qualitative Reasoning about the Physical World
205-C28 Instructional Design
205-D21 Teaching and Instruction
451-C34 Psychology of Language
451-D60 Special Topics in Cognition

PROFESSORS

Allan Collins 
Professor of Education    
Technology and education;  teaching and learning; portfolio assessment; 
technologically-based school reform. 
Ph.D. o University of Michigan o 1970

Kenneth D. Forbus 
Professor of Computer Science and Education
Qualitative physics; cognitive simulation of analogy; reasoning systems; 
intelligent tutoring systems and learning environments for science and 
engineering.
Ph.D. o MIT o 1984

Karen C. Fuson 
Professor of Education 
Mathematics and learning; cognitive development. 
Ph.D. o University of Chicago o 1972

Dedre Gentner 
Professor of Psychology 
Learning, reasoning and conceptual change in adults and children; analogy,
similarity, and metaphor; mental models; interactions of language and
thought in development.
Ph.D. o Univ. of California, San Diego o 1974

Douglas L. Medin 
Professor of Psychology 
Learning, categorization, mathematical and computational
models of cognition.  
Ph.D. o Univ. of South Dakota o 1968

Andrew Ortony  
Professor of Education and Psychology
Memory, knowledge representation, and figurative language comprehension; models
of cognition and emotion. 
Ph.D. o University of London o 1972

Roy D. Pea 
John Evans Professor of Education and the Learning Sciences
Dean, School of Education and Social Policy
Learning-teaching processes and environments in science, mathematics, and
technology; socio-cultural foundations of complex learning; cognitive and
conceptual development;  multi-media learning and communication.
Ph. D. o University of Oxford o 1978

Lance J. Rips 
Professor of Psychology 
Theories of reasoning and mathematical problem solving, autobiographical
memory, structure of word and sentence meaning.  
Ph.D. o Stanford University o 1974

Roger C. Schank 
John Evans Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 
Psychology and Education  
Theories of learning, understanding, teaching and creativity; applications of
artificial  intelligence to education, memory processing, natural language
understanding and case-based reasoning. 
Ph.D. o University of Texas o 1969

ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS

Ray Bareiss 
Associate Professor (Research) of the Institute for the Learning Sciences
Case-based reasoning; interactive learning environments; multimedia computing;
automated  knowledge acquisition. 
Ph.D. o University of Texas o 1988

Richard Beckwith 
Associate Professor (Research) of the Institute for the Learning Sciences
Developmental and educational psychology.
Ph.D. o Columbia University o 1988

Louis M. Gomez 
Associate Professor of Education and Computer Science 
Applied cognitive science; application of computing and networking technology
to teaching and learning; human-computer interaction; computer-supported
cooperative work. 
Ph.D. o Univ. of California, Berkeley o 1979

Carol D. Lee 
Associate Professor of Education
Socio-cultural foundations of literacy; defining literacy expertise within
specific ethnic speech communities and their implications for learning and
teaching processes; cultural models for knowledge representation in literacy
related tasks. 
Ph.D. o University of Chicago o 1991

Brian J. Reiser 
Associate Professor of Education
Interactive learning environments for science and technology; scientific
inquiry skills; coaching strategies in learning environments; guided
learning-by-doing environments.
Ph.D. o Yale University o 1983

Christopher K. Riesbeck 
Associate Professor of Computer Science 
Natural language analyzers; case-based reasoners; intelligent computational
media.  
Ph.D. o Stanford University o 1974

Sandra Waxman
Associate Professor of Psychology
Language and cognitive development, especially word learning and conceptual
organization from infancy through the preschool years. 
Ph.D. o Univ. of Pennsylvania o 1985

ASSISTANT PROFESSORS

Lawrence Birnbaum 
Assistant Professor of Computer Science  
Intelligent interfaces; natural language understanding; computers and
education; computer vision; learning.
Ph.D. o Yale University o 1986

Gregg Collins 
Assistant Professor of Computer Science 
Machine learning, planning, and human-computer interaction.
Ph.D. o Yale University o 1987

Eric A. Domeshek
Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Artificial intelligence; information indexing and retrieval; design cognition
and environments; human-computer systems.
Ph.D. o Yale University o 1992 

Daniel C. Edelson 
Assistant Professor of Education and Computer Science
Computer-support for open-ended learning; collaborative learning environments;
scientific visualization environments for learning; case-based teaching systems
Ph.D. o Northwestern Univ. o 1993

Jeremiah M. Faries 
Assistant Professor of Psychology and Education
Memory organization and retrieval; analogy; problem solving; mental imagery;
visual information processing; language comprehension; metaphor. 
Ph.D. o Princeton University o 1991

Alex Kass  
Assistant Professor (Research) of the Institute for the Learning Sciences 
Computer-based learning-by-doing environments; case-based reasoning; story
understanding; machine learning; models of creativity.  
Ph.D. o Yale University o 1990

David H. Uttal 
Assistant Professor of Psychology 
Mental representation, cognitive development, spatial cognition, early
symbolization. 
Ph.D. o University of Michigan o 1989

Edward Wisniewski 
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Cognitive science, psycholinguistics, conceptual combination, and concept
learning.
Ph.D. o Brown University o 1989