Jack Minker
Encyclopedia
Jack Minker is a leading authority in artificial intelligence
, deductive database
s, logic programming
and non-monotonic reasoning. He is also an internationally recognized leader in the field of human rights of computer scientists.
Minker is one of the founders of the area of deductive databases and disjunctive logic programming. He has made important contributions to semantic query optimization
and to cooperative and informative answers for deductive databases. He has also developed a theoretical basis for disjunctive databases and disjunctive logic programs, developing the Generalized Closed World Assumption (GCWA).
Minker has over 150 refereed publications and has edited or co-edited five books on deductive databases, logic programming, and the use of logic in artificial intelligence. He
is Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Theory and Practice of Logic Programming Journal.
Minker was Vice-Chairman of the Committee of Concerned Scientists since 1973, and Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights (CSFHR) of the Association for Computing Machinery from 1980-1989. He led the struggle for the release of Anatoly Shcharansky
and Alexander Lerner
from the late Soviet Union. He also campaigned on behalf of Andrei Sakharov
and his wife, Yelena Bonner
.
(AAAS) in 1989, founding Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
(AAAI) in 1990, Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) in 1991, and founding Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery
(ACM) in 1994.
He received the ACM Outstanding Contribution Award for his work on human rights in 1985, the ACM Recognition of Service Award in 1989, the University of Maryland President's Medal for 1996, and the prestigious ACM Allen Newell Award for 2005. The Allen Newell Award is a recognition by the Association for Computing Machinery to individuals that have contributed to the breadth of knowledge within computer science and the bridging between computer science and other disciplines. He also received the 2011 Heinz R. Pagels Human Rights Award from the New York Academy of
Sciences for his work on behalf of scientific freedom and human rights for scientists.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, deductive database
Deductive database
A Deductive database is a database system that can make deductions based on rules and facts stored in the database. Datalog is the language typically used to specify facts, rules and queries in deductive databases...
s, logic programming
Logic programming
Logic programming is, in its broadest sense, the use of mathematical logic for computer programming. In this view of logic programming, which can be traced at least as far back as John McCarthy's [1958] advice-taker proposal, logic is used as a purely declarative representation language, and a...
and non-monotonic reasoning. He is also an internationally recognized leader in the field of human rights of computer scientists.
Career
Minker was born in 1927 in Brooklyn, New York. He received his BA from Brooklyn College in 1949, MA from the University of Wisconsin in 1950 and Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania in 1959, having started his career in industry in 1951, working at the Bell Aircraft Corporation, RCA and the Auerbach Corporation. He joined the University of Maryland in 1967, becoming Professor of Computer Science in 1971 and the first Chairman of the Department in 1974. He became Professor Emeritus in 1998.Minker is one of the founders of the area of deductive databases and disjunctive logic programming. He has made important contributions to semantic query optimization
Query optimization
Query optimization is a function of many relational database management systems in which multiple query plans for satisfying a query are examined and a good query plan is identified. This may or not be the absolute best strategy because there are many ways of doing plans. There is a trade-off...
and to cooperative and informative answers for deductive databases. He has also developed a theoretical basis for disjunctive databases and disjunctive logic programs, developing the Generalized Closed World Assumption (GCWA).
Minker has over 150 refereed publications and has edited or co-edited five books on deductive databases, logic programming, and the use of logic in artificial intelligence. He
is Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Theory and Practice of Logic Programming Journal.
Minker was Vice-Chairman of the Committee of Concerned Scientists since 1973, and Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights (CSFHR) of the Association for Computing Machinery from 1980-1989. He led the struggle for the release of Anatoly Shcharansky
Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky was born in Stalino, Soviet Union on 20 January 1948 to a Jewish family. He graduated with a degree in applied mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. As a child, he was a chess prodigy. He performed in simultaneous and blindfold displays, usually against...
and Alexander Lerner
Alexander Lerner
Alexander Yakovlevich Lerner , scientist and Soviet refusenik.- Biography :...
from the late Soviet Union. He also campaigned on behalf of Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. He earned renown as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the...
and his wife, Yelena Bonner
Yelena Bonner
Yelena Bonner was a human rights activist in the former Soviet Union and wife of the noted physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov. During her decades as a dissident, Bonner was noted for her characteristic blunt honesty and courage.-Youth:...
.
Honours and awards
Minker was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of ScienceAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
(AAAS) in 1989, founding Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence or AAAI is an international, nonprofit, scientific society devoted to advancing the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines...
(AAAI) in 1990, Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
(IEEE) in 1991, and founding Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
(ACM) in 1994.
He received the ACM Outstanding Contribution Award for his work on human rights in 1985, the ACM Recognition of Service Award in 1989, the University of Maryland President's Medal for 1996, and the prestigious ACM Allen Newell Award for 2005. The Allen Newell Award is a recognition by the Association for Computing Machinery to individuals that have contributed to the breadth of knowledge within computer science and the bridging between computer science and other disciplines. He also received the 2011 Heinz R. Pagels Human Rights Award from the New York Academy of
Sciences for his work on behalf of scientific freedom and human rights for scientists.