Connectionists: call for nominations: David E. Rumelhart Prize (due May 1)

[Dave_Touretzky@cs.cmu.edu]

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS:

                            For the
            Eighth Annual David E. Rumelhart Prize
                 for Contributions to the
         Theoretical Foundations of Human Cognition

EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT: MAY 1, 2007

The David E. Rumelhart Prize is awarded annually to an individual
or collaborative team making a significant contemporary
contribution to the theoretical foundations of human
cognition. As in the past, contributions may be formal in nature:
mathematical modeling of human cognitive processes, formal
analysis of language and other products of human cognitive
activity, and computational analysis of human cognition using
symbolic or non-symbolic frameworks all fall within the scope of
the award.

We hereby call for nominations for the eighth Rumelhart Prize,
to be announced at the Cognitive Science Society Meeting
in Nashville, Tennessee in August, 2007 and presented at the subsequent
Meeting in Washington DC in July, 2008.

In an important expansion of the scope of the prize, the prize now
encompasses seminal contributions that may not be formal, but that
nevertheless make fundamental contributions to theory.  We seek to be
inclusive and welcome nominations that would increase the diversity
(in gender, disciplinary affiliation, geography, and any other
relevant dimensions) of the prize winners.  The prize consists of a
certificate, a citation of the awardee's contribution, and a monetary
award of $100,000.

Recipients and Prize-Related Activities

The recipient of the seventh David E. Rumelhart Prize is Jeff Elman. Elman
will receive the prize and deliver the Prize Lecture at the 29th
annual meeting of the Cognitive Science Society in Nashville, Tennessee
on August 3, 2007.  Previous winners of the Prize are Geoffrey E. Hinton
(2001), Richard M. Shiffrin (2002), Aravind Joshi (2003), John
Anderson (2004), Paul Smolensky (2005), and Roger Shepard (2006).
Each received the prize and delivered the Prize Lecture at the
Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society in the year indicated.

Funding of the Prize

The David E. Rumelhart Prize is funded by the Robert J. Glushko
and Pamela Samuelson Foundation, based in San Francisco. Robert
J. Glushko is an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley who received a
Ph. D. in Cognitive Psychology in 1979 under Rumelhart's
supervision.

Nomination, Selection and Award Presentation
Each year, the selection committee will continue to consider
nominations previously submitted. The committee invites updates to
existing nominations as well as new nominations. Materials should
be sent to the Prize Administration address at the end of this
announcement. To be considered in the committee's deliberations
for the prize that will be announced in 2007 and awarded in 2008,
the nomination must be received by May 1, 2007.  Materials should
be sent to DER Prize Administration, Center for the Neural Basis
of Cognition, 115 Mellon Institute, 4400 Fifth Avenue,
Pittsburgh, PA 15213.

Nominations should include (1) A statement of nomination (up to 3
pages) (2) a complete curriculum vitae and (3) 5 copies of up to
five key publications (for books, 1 or 2 copies will be
sufficient).  Note that the nominee may be an individual or a
team, and in the case of a team, vitae for all members should be
provided. The prize selection committee considers both the
scientific contributions and the scientific leadership and
collegiality of the nominees, so these issues should be addressed
in the statement of nomination.

Prize Administration
The Rumelhart Prize is administered by the Chair of the Prize
Selection Committee in consultation with the Glushko-Samuelson
Foundation and the Distinguished Advisory Board. Screening of
nominees and selection of the prize winner will be performed by
the Prize Selection Committee. Scientific members (including the
Chair) of the Prize Selection Committee will serve for up to two
four-year terms, and members of this committee will be selected
by the Glushko-Samuelson Foundation in consultation with the
Distinguished Advisory Board. A representative of the Foundation
will also serve on the Prize Selection Committee. Members of the
Prize Selection Committee are listed at the end of this
announcement.

Prize Selection Committee

Robert J. Glushko
Glushko-Samuelson Foundation

Robert Goldstone
Dept. of Psychology
Indiana University

James L. McClelland (Chair)
Dept. of Psychology
Stanford University

Linda Smith
Department of Psychology
Indiana University

Paul Smolensky
Dept. of Cognitive Science
Johns Hopkins University




David E. Rumelhart Prize Administration
Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition
115 Mellon Institute
4400 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA  15213
http://rumelhartprize.org/