Edwina Luane Rissland (also published as Edwina Luane Rissland Michener) is a retired American mathematician and computer scientist. Initially focusing on

knowledge representation Knowledge representation (KR) aims to model information in a structured manner to formally represent it as knowledge in knowledge-based systems whereas knowledge representation and reasoning (KRR, KR&R, or KR²) also aims to understand, reason, and ...

and the

philosophy of mathematics Philosophy of mathematics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of mathematics and its relationship to other areas of philosophy, particularly epistemology and metaphysics. Central questions posed include whether or not mathem ...

, her later research in

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 ...

included work on

case-based reasoning Case-based reasoning (CBR), broadly construed, is the process of solving new problems based on the solutions of similar past problems. In everyday life, an auto mechanic who fixes an engine by recalling another car that exhibited similar sympto ...

and the applications of AI in legal work. She is a professor emerita in the Manning College of Information & Computer Sciences at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

. In her retirement she has worked as a photographer and art curator.

Education and career

Rissland majored in applied mathematics as an undergraduate at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, where her undergraduate studies included a computer science course from

Andries van Dam Andries "Andy" van Dam (born December 8, 1938) is a Dutch-American professor of computer science and former vice-president for research at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Together with Ted Nelson he contributed to the first hypert ...

. She graduated in 1969. After a 1970 master's degree at

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

, she completed a Ph.D. in mathematics at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 1977. Her dissertation, '' Epistemology, Representation, Understanding and Interactive Exploration of Mathematical Theories'', was supervised by

Seymour Papert Seymour Aubrey Papert (; 29 February 1928 – 31 July 2016) was a South African-born American mathematician, computer scientist, and educator, who spent most of his career teaching and researching at MIT. He was one of the pioneers of artif ...

. She joined the UMass Amherst faculty in 1979. Her interest in law began around this time after reading a book on

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

decisions. In 1982 and 1983 she was affiliated with the

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

as a Fellow of Law and Computer Science, and from 1985 to 1986 she returned to the Harvard Law School as a lecturer. She also served two terms as a program director for artificial intelligence and cognitive science at the

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 ...

, from 2003 to 2007 and again from 2010 to 2012, helped found the International Association for Artificial Intelligence and Law, and later served as its president. She retired in 2013.

Recognition

Rissland was named a Fellow of the

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

in 1991. In 2023 she received the CodeX prize of the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics for her contributions to

computational law Computational Law is the branch of legal informatics concerned with the automation of legal reasoning. What distinguishes Computational Law systems from other instances of legal technology is their autonomy, i.e. the ability to answer legal ques ...

, together with her doctoral student, Kevin Ashley, and in particular for their HYPO CBR system for legal case-based reasoning.

Selected publications

Rissland is a coauthor of the textbook ''Cognitive Science: An Introduction'' (MIT Press, 1988; 2nd ed., 1995). Her research publications include: * * * * * * *

References

External links

Rissland Arts
Rissland's photography web site
The case-based reasoning group
Rissland's research group at UMass Amherst {{DEFAULTSORT:Rissland, Edwina Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American computer scientists American women computer scientists American mathematicians American women mathematicians Philosophers of mathematics American artificial intelligence researchers Brown University alumni Brandeis University alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty Fellows of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence