J. Alan Robinson
Encyclopedia
John Alan Robinson is a philosopher (by training), mathematician
and computer scientist
. He is University Professor Emeritus at Syracuse University
, United States
.
Alan Robinson's major contribution is to the foundations of automated theorem proving
and logic programming
, using the resolution principle and unification (1965). This enabled the efficient implementation of the Prolog
logic programming language and theorem provers.
Robinson received the 1996 Herbrand Award
for Distinguished Contributions to Automated Reasoning
(named after the mathematician Jacques Herbrand
).
, England
in 1930 and left for the United States in 1952 with a classics
degree from Cambridge University. He studied philosophy
at the University of Oregon
before moving to Princeton University
where he received his PhD in philosophy in 1956. He then worked at Du Pont as an operations research
analyst, where he learned programming and taught himself mathematics
. He moved to Rice University
in 1961, spending his summers as a visiting researcher at the Argonne National Laboratory
's Applied Mathematics Division. He moved to Syracuse University as Distinguished Professor of Logic and Computer Science in 1967 and became professor emeritus in 1993.
It was at Argonne that Robinson became interested in automated theorem proving and developed unification and the resolution principle. Resolution and unification have since been incorporated in many automated theorem-proving systems and are the basis for the inference mechanisms used in logic programming and the programming language Prolog.
Robinson was the Founding Editor of the Journal of Logic Programming, and has received numerous honours. These include the Guggenheim Fellowship
1967-1968, American Mathematical Society
Milestone Award in Automatic Theorem Proving 1985, AAAI Fellowship 1990, Humboldt Foundation Senior Scientist Award 1995, Herbrand Award for Distinguished Contributions to Automatic Reasoning 1996, and Honorary lifetime Membership of the Association for Logic Programming 1997. He has received Honorary Doctorates from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 1988, Uppsala University 1994, and Universidad Politecnica de Madrid 2003.
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
. He is University Professor Emeritus at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Alan Robinson's major contribution is to the foundations of automated theorem proving
Automated theorem proving
Automated theorem proving or automated deduction, currently the most well-developed subfield of automated reasoning , is the proving of mathematical theorems by a computer program.- Decidability of the problem :...
and logic programming
Logic programming
Logic programming is, in its broadest sense, the use of mathematical logic for computer programming. In this view of logic programming, which can be traced at least as far back as John McCarthy's [1958] advice-taker proposal, logic is used as a purely declarative representation language, and a...
, using the resolution principle and unification (1965). This enabled the efficient implementation of the Prolog
Prolog
Prolog is a general purpose logic programming language associated with artificial intelligence and computational linguistics.Prolog has its roots in first-order logic, a formal logic, and unlike many other programming languages, Prolog is declarative: the program logic is expressed in terms of...
logic programming language and theorem provers.
Robinson received the 1996 Herbrand Award
Herbrand Award
The Herbrand Award for Distinguished Contributions to Automated Deduction is an award given by CADE Inc. to honour persons or groups for important contributions to the field of automated deduction. The award is named after the French scientist Jacques Herbrand and given at most once per CADE or...
for Distinguished Contributions to Automated Reasoning
Automated reasoning
Automated reasoning is an area of computer science dedicated to understand different aspects of reasoning. The study in automated reasoning helps produce software which allows computers to reason completely, or nearly completely, automatically...
(named after the mathematician Jacques Herbrand
Jacques Herbrand
Jacques Herbrand was a French mathematician who was born in Paris, France and died in La Bérarde, Isère, France. Although he died at only 23 years of age, he was already considered one of "the greatest mathematicians of the younger generation" by his professors Helmut Hasse, and Richard Courant.He...
).
Life
Robinson was born in YorkshireYorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1930 and left for the United States in 1952 with a classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
degree from Cambridge University. He studied philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
before moving to Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
where he received his PhD in philosophy in 1956. He then worked at Du Pont as an operations research
Operations research
Operations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...
analyst, where he learned programming and taught himself mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. He moved to Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
in 1961, spending his summers as a visiting researcher at the Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory is the first science and engineering research national laboratory in the United States, receiving this designation on July 1, 1946. It is the largest national laboratory by size and scope in the Midwest...
's Applied Mathematics Division. He moved to Syracuse University as Distinguished Professor of Logic and Computer Science in 1967 and became professor emeritus in 1993.
It was at Argonne that Robinson became interested in automated theorem proving and developed unification and the resolution principle. Resolution and unification have since been incorporated in many automated theorem-proving systems and are the basis for the inference mechanisms used in logic programming and the programming language Prolog.
Robinson was the Founding Editor of the Journal of Logic Programming, and has received numerous honours. These include the Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
1967-1968, American Mathematical Society
American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, which it does with various publications and conferences as well as annual monetary awards and prizes to mathematicians.The society is one of the...
Milestone Award in Automatic Theorem Proving 1985, AAAI Fellowship 1990, Humboldt Foundation Senior Scientist Award 1995, Herbrand Award for Distinguished Contributions to Automatic Reasoning 1996, and Honorary lifetime Membership of the Association for Logic Programming 1997. He has received Honorary Doctorates from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 1988, Uppsala University 1994, and Universidad Politecnica de Madrid 2003.
Selected publications
- John Alan Robinson, "A Machine-Oriented Logic Based on the Resolution Principle", Communications of the ACMCommunications of the ACMCommunications of the ACM is the flagship monthly journal of the Association for Computing Machinery . First published in 1957, CACM is sent to all ACM members, currently numbering about 80,000. The articles are intended for readers with backgrounds in all areas of computer science and information...
, 5:23–41, 1965. - Michael A. Arbib and J. Alan Robinson (eds.), Natural and Artificial Parallel Computation, The MIT Press, 1990.
- J. Alan Robinson and Andrei Voronkov (eds.), Handbook of Automated Reasoning, The MIT Press, 2001.
See also
- List of important publications in computer science
External links
- Herbrand Award 1996: J. Alan Robinson
- Books listed by The MIT Press