Ashok Goel

Last updated
Ashok Goel
Ashok1-2012.jpg
Born
New Delhi, India
Alma mater Ohio State University
Awards AAAI Fellow, Fellow of Cognitive Science Society
Scientific career
Fields Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science, Computer-Aided Design, Educational Technology
Institutions Ohio State University, Georgia Institute of Technology
Thesis Integrating Case-Based Reasoning and Model-Based Reasoning for Adaptive Design Problem Solving (1989)
Doctoral advisor Balakrishnan Chandrasekaran
Doctoral students Jim Davies, Eleni Stroulia
Website http://dilab.gatech.edu/ashok-k-goel/

Ashok K. Goel is a professor of computer science and human-centered computing in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology, and the chief scientist with Georgia Tech's Center for 21st Century Universities. [1] He conducts research into cognitive systems at the intersection of artificial intelligence and cognitive science with a focus on computational design and creativity. Goel is also the Principle Investigator and Executive Director of National Science Foundation's AI Institute for Adult Learning and Online Education [2] and an editor emeritus of AAAI's AI Magazine. [3]

Contents

Research and scholarship

Conceptual design of technical systems, in particular biologically inspired engineering, provides one context for Goel's problem-driven research into cognitive systems. He has developed a theory of Structure-Behavior-Function models for understanding conceptual designs [4] [5] and a theory of model-based analogical reasoning for understanding the processes of biologically inspired design. [6] [7] In addition to information-processing theories of conceptual design, [8] [9] he has built computational tools (such as the Design by Analogy to Nature Engine) for supporting its practice. [10] [11] His 2012 TEDx talk Does Our Future Require Us To Go Back to Nature? summarizes this research. [12] In 2014, he co-edited Biologically inspired design: Computational methods and tools [13] published by Springer-Verlag. During 2008–18, Ashok was a co-director of Georgia Tech's Center of Biologically Inspired Design, and during 2012-17 he served on the Board of Directors of The Biomimicry Institute including as the President of the Board during 2015–17.[ citation needed ]

Learning about complex systems and systems thinking provides another context for Goel's use-inspired cognitive systems research. He has used Structure-Behavior-Function modeling to develop a series of interactive environments for supporting learning about complex systems [14] [15] resulting in the recent web-based virtual experimentation research assistant (VERA). Smithsonian Institution's Encyclopedia of Life's webportal provides direct access to VERA to support learning about ecological systems and the scientific way of systems thinking. [16] Since 2015, Ashok has been a Faculty Fellow of the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems.

Teaching and scholarship

During 2012–2019, Ashok was the Director of Georgia Tech's Ph.D. Program in Human-Centered Computing. Since 2019, he has been the Chief Scientist with the Georgia Tech's Center for 21st Century Universities, where he leads research on AI in education and education in AI. In 2014, Goel developed an online course on Knowledge-Based AI as part of Georgia Tech's Online Master of Science in Computer Science program. [17] In 2016, he developed Jill Watson, a virtual teaching assistant for automatically answering students’ questions in discussion forums of online classes based on the IBM Watson technology. His 2016 TEDx talk A Teaching Assistant named Jill Watson describes this experiment. [18] In 2019, he co-edited Blended learning in practice: A guide for researchers and practitioners [19] published by the MIT Press. He received AAAI's Outstanding AI Educator Award in 2019 and the University System of Georgia Regent's Award for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in 2020. Since 2021, Ashok has been the Executive Director for NSF's National AI Institute for Adult Learning and Online Education (AI-ALOE). He was selected as an AAAI Fellow in 2021 and a Cognitive Science Society Fellow in 2022. Ashok was awarded the AAAI Distinguished Service Award in 2024.

Goel's teaching and research have been covered in The Wall Street Journal , [20] The Washington Post , [21] Wired , [22] and EdTech [23] among other media. A review article in a special issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education called virtual assistants exemplified by Jill Watson as one of the most transformative educational technologies in the digital era. [24]

Related Research Articles

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Bio-inspired computing, short for biologically inspired computing, is a field of study which seeks to solve computer science problems using models of biology. It relates to connectionism, social behavior, and emergence. Within computer science, bio-inspired computing relates to artificial intelligence and machine learning. Bio-inspired computing is a major subset of natural computation.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems</span> Machine-learning and computational-neuroscience conference

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A cognitive architecture refers to both a theory about the structure of the human mind and to a computational instantiation of such a theory used in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and computational cognitive science. These formalized models can be used to further refine comprehensive theories of cognition and serve as the frameworks for useful artificial intelligence programs. Successful cognitive architectures include ACT-R and SOAR. The research on cognitive architectures as software instantiation of cognitive theories was initiated by Allen Newell in 1990.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael L. Littman</span> American computer scientist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBM Watson</span> Artificial intelligence computer system made by IBM

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The LIDA cognitive architecture is an integrated artificial cognitive system that attempts to model a broad spectrum of cognition in biological systems, from low-level perception/action to high-level reasoning. Developed primarily by Stan Franklin and colleagues at the University of Memphis, the LIDA architecture is empirically grounded in cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience. In addition to providing hypotheses to guide further research, the architecture can support control structures for software agents and robots. Providing plausible explanations for many cognitive processes, the LIDA conceptual model is also intended as a tool with which to think about how minds work.

Jim Davies is an American/Canadian cognitive scientist, playwright, artist, and author. He received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from the State University of New York at Oswego, his masters in psychology and his Ph.D. in computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a full professor of Cognitive Science at the Institute of Cognitive Science and the School of Computer Science at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario where he is the director of the Science of Imagination Laboratory. His research focuses on visual reasoning, analogy, and imagination.

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References

  1. ↑ "Home | Center for 21st Century Universities". c21u.gatech.edu. Archived from the original on 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  2. ↑ admin. "Home". National AI Institute for Adult Learning and Online Education. Archived from the original on 2022-01-26. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  3. ↑ "Editorial Team | AI Magazine". ojs.aaai.org. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  4. ↑ Structure, behavior, and function of complex systems: The structure, behavior, and function modeling language. | Ashok Goel, Spencer Rugaber & Swaroop Vattam. | AIEDAM 23(1):23-35. | 2009.
  5. ↑ A 30-year case study and 15 principles: implications of an artificial intelligence methodology for functional modeling. | Ashok Goel. | AIEDAM 27(3):203-215 | 2013.
  6. ↑ Design, analogy, and creativity | Ashok Goel. | IEEE Expert 12(3):62-70. | 1997.
  7. ↑ "Use of design patterns in analogy-based design. | Ashok Goel & Sambasiva Bhatta.", Advanced Engineering Informatics , vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 85–94, 2004
  8. ↑ Biologically Inspired Design: Process and Products. | Michael Helms, Swaroop Vattam & Ashok Goel. | Design Studies 30(5):606-622. | 2009.
  9. ↑ A content account of creative analogies in biologically inspired design | Swaroop Vattam, Michael Helms & Ashok Goel. | AIEDAM 24(4). | 2010.
  10. ↑ Cognitive, collaborative, conceptual and creative—four characteristics of the next generation of knowledge-based CAD systems: a study in biologically inspired design. | Ashok Goel Swaroop Vattm, Bryan Wiltgen & Michael Helms. | Computer-Aided Design 44(10):879-900. | 2012.
  11. ↑ The four-box method: problem formulation and analogy evaluation in biologically inspired design. | Michael Helms & Ashok Goel. | Journal of Mechanical Design 136(11). | 2014.
  12. ↑ TEDx Talks (2012-11-12), Does Our Future Require Us To Go Back to Nature? | Ashok Goel | TEDxPeachtree
  13. ↑ Biologically inspired design: Computational methods and tools. | Ashok Goel, Daniel McAdams & Robert Stone (editors).| Springer-Verlag.
  14. ↑ Towards design learning environments—I: Exploring how devices work. | AK Goel, AG de Silva Garza, N Grué, JW Murdock, MM Recker, T. Govindraj. | Proceedings of the International conference on intelligent tutoring systems, LNCS 1086, pp. 493-501. | 1996.
  15. ↑ Understanding complex natural systems by articulating structure-behavior-function models. | SS Vattam, AK Goel, S Rugaber, CE Hmelo-Silver, R Jordan, S Gray. | Journal of Educational Technology & Society 14(1):66-81. | 2011.
  16. ↑ The Scientific Way of Thinking Using VERA., 2019-09-16, archived from the original on 2022-04-06, retrieved 2021-02-16
  17. ↑ "CS 7637: Knowledge-Based Artificial Intelligence: Cognitive Systems | OMSCS | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA". www.omscs.gatech.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
  18. ↑ TEDx Talks (2016-11-01), A teaching assistant named Jill Watson | Ashok Goel | TEDxSanFrancisco
  19. ↑ Blended learning in practice: A guide for researchers and practitioners. | Amanda Madden, Lauren Margulieux, Robert Kadel & Ashok Goel (editors). | The MIT Press.
  20. ↑ Korn, Melissa (2016-05-06), "Imagine Discovering That Your Teaching Assistant Really Is a Robot | Melissa Korn", Wall Street Journal, archived from the original on 2017-12-28, retrieved 2017-12-29
  21. ↑ What happened when a professor built a chatbot to be his teaching assistant | Matt MacFarland, 2016-05-11, archived from the original on 2021-02-02, retrieved 2021-02-15
  22. ↑ Leopold, Todd (2016-12-13), "A Secret Ops AI Aims to Save Education | Todd Lepold", Wired, archived from the original on 2021-01-17, retrieved 2021-02-15
  23. ↑ Improve Online Learning and More with Artificial Intelligence | Tommy Peterson, 2020-05-05, archived from the original on 2021-03-01, retrieved 2021-02-15
  24. ↑ The Digital Era. | Ben Myers & Erica Lusk, 2016-12-15, archived from the original on 2021-07-04, retrieved 2021-02-15
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