a biography

A Tribute To Herbert Simon >> Biography

Nobel Laureate and Artificial Intelligence Expert
Herbert A. Simon of Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University Professor Herbert A. Simon, winner of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Economics, the A.M. Turing Award and the National Medal of Science and many other awards for his work in cognitive psychology and computer science, died on February 9, 2001, at the age of 84. Dr. Simon's 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 tool for both simulating human thinking and augmenting it with artificial intelligence. Dr. Simon was widely considered to be a founder of the field of artificial intelligence.

A member of 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.

Additional On-line Biographies:

"Herbert A. Simon: A Family Memory" by Katherine Simon Frank

The Nobel Foundation Official Web site maintains the original press release announcing Herbert Simon as recipient of the 1978 Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, as well as Herbert Simon's autobiography.

Carnegie Mellon University obituary with inclusive biography with links to Herbert Simon's work available on-line.

Web pages including biographies and research references on Herbert Simon:

• Carnegie-Mellon's Graduate School of Industrial Administration
  
• Carnegie-Mellon's School of Computer Science
  
• Carnegie-Mellon's Psychology Department
  
• Carnegie-Mellon's Philosophy Department
  
• Carnegie-Mellon's Human-Computer Interaction Institute
• Earthware Symposium
• Brittanica.com
• Nobel Prize Internet Archive
• Bartleby, Internet publisher of literature, reference and verse
• School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
• Philosophy of Mind
• Santa Fe Institute

The Department of Economics, New School University, offers a look at Herbert Simon as economist, along with an extensive list of his major works and resources on Simon.