Robert Kowalski
- Logician and Computer Scientist
Website
Education
- Earned a BA in mathematics from the University of Bridgeport in 1963,
- Received an MSc in mathematics from Stanford University in 1966,
- Completed his PhD in computer science from the University of Edinburgh in 1970.
- He also spent time at the University of Warsaw.
Bio
Robert Kowalski was born in 1941 and is a notable expert in the crossroads of logic and computer science. Throughout his career, he’s focused on connecting the dots between how humans think and how computers process information. His journey has taken him from the United States, where he started his academic journey, to the United Kingdom, where he conducted impactful research.
Kowalski is a trailblazer in logic programming, a way of using logic for computer processes. His innovative work on Prolog, a versatile logic programming language, set the stage for applications in artificial intelligence, knowledge representation, and problem-solving.
He worked as a research fellow at the University of Edinburgh from 1970 to 1975. Since 1975, he has been part of the Department of Computing at Imperial College London. In 1982, he was promoted to chair in Computational Logic and became an Emeritus Professor in 1999.
Robert Kowalski advises young people to balance personal goals and social obligations. He shares that reconciling these can be challenging yet rewarding. His personal goals revolve around logic in human affairs, while social obligations led him to teach computing. He emphasizes working hard to be a responsible citizen without compromising personal beliefs, a recommendation he extends to others.
Kowalski highlights the importance of creating AI systems that people can understand and relate to. His research explores how logic can mimic human thinking, guiding the development of more intuitive and explainable AI systems.
His achievements have earned him Fellow status in esteemed organizations like the American Association for Artificial Intelligence and the European Co-ordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence. He’s received awards such as the IJCAI Award for Research Excellence and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Award for Eminent Scientists.
Robert Kowalski goes beyond academic realms. As an accomplished author, he has written influential books that make complex ideas accessible to a broader audience. His writings delve into the philosophical implications of his work.
Kowalski’s legacy lives on through his groundbreaking work in logic programming, automated theorem proving, and human-centered AI. As an active researcher, he continues to inspire new generations of computer scientists, urging them to explore the connections between reasoning, computation, and human thought.
Famous Publication
- Logic Programming (1979)
- Logic for Problem Solving (1988)
- Computational Logic and Human Thinking (2011)
- Wieszczowie (2001)
Projects
- Automated theorem proving, and development of SL-resolution
- Procedural interpretation of Horn clauses
- Developed the logic and computer language LPS.
Achievements
- Fellowship from American Association for Artificial Intelligence (1991):
- Fellowship from European Co-ordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence (1999):
- Membership from the Association for Computing Machinery (2001):
- IJCAI Award for Research Excellence (2011)
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Award for Eminent Scientists (2012-2014):
- Inaugural CodeX Prize (2021):
- Developed Prolog, a foundational logic programming language
- Emphasized human-centered AI and interpretability in logic systems:
- Authored influential textbooks like “Logic Programming” and “Logic for Problem Solving”
- Served on editorial boards of prestigious journals in AI and logic
- Supervised PhD students who became distinguished researchers themselves