Litman Named to the Inaugural Class of Senior Members of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
Diane J. Litman, professor in the Department of Computer Science, co-director of Pitt’s Intelligent Systems Program, and a senior scientist in Pitt’s Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) has been granted senior member status in the inaugural class of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). One of only nine members to be so honored, Litman was awarded the status in recognition of her achievements and long-standing efforts in the field of artificial intelligence as well as for her long-term participation in AAAI. She was accorded the honor in August 2011 in San Francisco at the 25th Annual AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence.
Litman’s expertise is in the area of artificial intelligence, tutoring systems, and natural language processing. Along with other colleagues at LRDC, Litman has developed computational tutorial dialogue systems that promote learning through conversation. Litman earned her AB degree in mathematics and computer science from The College of William and Mary and her MS and PhD degrees in computer science from the University of Rochester. In 2008, she received The Leverhulme Trust’s prestigious Visiting Professorship Award, which allowed her to collaborate with fellow researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. From 2000 to 2003, Litman served as chair of the North American Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics.
Founded in 1979, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (www.aaai.org) is a nonprofit scientific membership society devoted to advancing the scientific understanding of the computational mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines. AAAI aims to foster the science and practice of artificial intelligence (AI), as well as to increase public understanding of AI, improve the teaching and training of AI practitioners, and provide guidance for research planners and funders concerning AI developments and directions. Each year, AAAI sponsors numerous programs including scientific conferences, workshops, and symposia.