Biography:Ashok Goel

From HandWiki
Short description: Indian-American computer scientist
Ashok Goel
Ashok1-2012.jpg
Born
New Delhi, India
Alma materOhio State University
AwardsAAAI Fellow, Fellow of Cognitive Science Society
Scientific career
FieldsArtificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science, Computer-Aided Design, Educational Technology
InstitutionsOhio State University, Georgia Institute of Technology
ThesisIntegrating Case-Based Reasoning and Model-Based Reasoning for Adaptive Design Problem Solving (1989)
Doctoral advisorBalakrishnan Chandrasekaran
Doctoral studentsJim Davies, Eleni Stroulia
Websitehttp://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 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]

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 2012–19, 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.

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]

References

  1. "Home | Center for 21st Century Universities" (in en). https://c21u.gatech.edu/. 
  2. admin. "Home" (in en). https://aialoe.org/. 
  3. "Editorial Team | AI Magazine". https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/aimagazine/about/editorialTeam#:~:text=Ashok%20Goel,USA. 
  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 18 (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, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiRDQ4hr9i8}. 
  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, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn5e9fWmPqI&list=PLwXogtSxXaLCP4AXU_VFUP92TVmotGLMv, retrieved 2021-02-16 
  17. "CS 7637: Knowledge-Based Artificial Intelligence: Cognitive Systems | OMSCS | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA" (in en). http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/cs-7637-knowledge-based-artificial-intelligence-cognitive-systems. 
  18. TEDx Talks (2016-11-01), A teaching assistant named Jill Watson | Ashok Goel | TEDxSanFrancisco, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbCguICyfTA}. 
  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, https://www.wsj.com/articles/if-your-teacher-sounds-like-a-robot-you-might-be-on-to-something-1462546621, retrieved 2017-12-29 
  21. What happened when a professor built a chatbot to be his teaching assistant | Matt MacFarland, 2016-05-11, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2016/05/11/this-professor-stunned-his-students-when-he-revealed-the-secret-identity-of-his-teaching-assistant/, retrieved 2021-02-15 
  22. Leopold, Todd (2016-12-13), "A Secret Ops AI Aims to Save Education | Todd Lepold", Wired, https://www.wired.com/2016/12/a-secret-ops-ai-aims-to-save-education/, retrieved 2021-02-15 
  23. Improve Online Learning and More with Artificial Intelligence | Tommy Peterson, 2020-05-05, https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2020/08/improve-online-learning-and-more-artificial-intelligence, retrieved 2021-02-15 
  24. The Digital Era. | Ben Myers & Erica Lusk, 2016-12-15, https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-digital-era/?cid=wcontentgrid, retrieved 2021-02-15 

External links