Ashok K. Goel is a professor of

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

and human-centered computing in the School of Interactive Computing at

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

, and the chief scientist with

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

's Center for 21st Century Universities. He conducts research into cognitive systems at the intersection of

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

and

cognitive science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary, scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines the nature, the tasks, and the functions of cognition (in a broad sense). Mental faculties of concern to cognitive scientists include percep ...

with a focus on computational design and creativity. Goel is also the principal investigator and executive director of

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

's AI Institute for Adult Learning and Online Education and an editor emeritus of

AAAI The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) is an international scientific society devoted to promote research in, and responsible use of, artificial intelligence. AAAI also aims to increase public understanding of artif ...

's ''AI Magazine''.

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 and a theory of model-based analogical reasoning for understanding the processes of biologically inspired design. In addition to information-processing theories of conceptual design, he has built computational tools (such as the Design by Analogy to Nature Engine) for supporting its practice. His 2012 TEDx talk ''Does Our Future Require Us To Go Back to Nature?'' summarizes this research. In 2014, he co-edited ''Biologically inspired design: Computational methods and tools'' 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. Learning about complex systems and

systems thinking Systems thinking is a way of making sense of the complexity of the world by looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than by splitting it down into its parts.Anderson, Virginia, & Johnson, Lauren (1997). ''Systems Thinking Ba ...

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 resulting in the recent web-based virtual experimentation research assistant (VERA). Smithsonian Institution's

Encyclopedia of Life The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a free, online encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1.9 million living species known to science. It aggregates content to form "pages" for every known species. Content is compiled from existing trusted ...

's webportal provides direct access to VERA to support learning about ecological systems and the scientific way of systems thinking. Since 2015, Ashok has been a Faculty Fellow of the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems.

Teaching and scholarship

During 2012–2019, 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. 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 IBM Watson is a computer system capable of answering questions posed in natural language. It was developed as a part of IBM's DeepQA project by a research team, led by principal investigator David Ferrucci. Watson was named after IBM's fou ...

technology. His 2016 TEDx talk A Teaching Assistant named Jill Watson describes this experiment. In 2019, he co-edited ''Blended learning in practice: A guide for researchers and practitioners'' published by the MIT Press. He received

's Outstanding AI Educator Award in 2019 and the University System of Georgia Regent's Award for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in 2020. Since 2021, Ashok has been the Executive Director fo
NSF's National AI Institute for Adult Learning and Online Education (AI-ALOE)
He was selected as a
AAAI Fellow in 2021
and a

Cognitive Science Society The Cognitive Science Society is a professional society for the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science. It brings together researchers from many fields who hold the common goal of understanding the nature of the human mind. The society prom ...

Fellow in 2022. Ashok was awarded th
AAAI Distinguished Service Award in 2024
Goel's teaching and research have been covered in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

'', and ''EdTech'' among other media. A review article in a special issue of ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscription ...

'' called virtual assistants exemplified by Jill Watson as one of the most transformative educational technologies in the digital era.

References

External links

Ashok Goel's Research Laboratory at Georgia Tech
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goel, Ashok Living people American computer scientists American cognitive scientists Georgia Tech faculty Ohio State University people Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence