Noted Computer Scientist Victor Lesser Appointed Distinguished Professor at UMass Amherst

July 9, 2009

Contact:

Daniel J. Fitzgibbons 413/545-0444

AMHERST, Mass. – Computer scientist Victor Lesser, an accomplished researcher in the field of artificial intelligence, has been appointed a Distinguished Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The appointment was made by UMass President Jack M. Wilson following its approval by the University’s Board of Trustees on June 10. A member of the UMass Amherst computer science department for 32 years, Lesser was recommended for the honor by Chancellor Robert C. Holub and former Provost Charlena Seymour.

According to their recommendation, “Professor Lesser has clearly established himself as a world-renowned leader in the field of artificial intelligence” and “the founder and one of the most influential researchers in multi-agent systems, a field that provides a powerful model for computing in the 21st century.”

One external evaluator of his nomination wrote, “The ideas developed in his research area are now an important part of most undergraduate curricula and are taught to thousands of students yearly worldwide.”

Lesser joined the UMass Amherst faculty in 1977 after serving four years as a research computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University. He was promoted to associate professor the following year and to professor in 1982. He has held visiting faculty appointments at MIT, Stanford University and Southampton University in Great Britain.

Since his appointment to the UMass faculty, he has published 73 journal articles, 127 refereed conference papers and 63 book chapters. As one of the most cited authors in the field, Lesser is in the top ranks of international computer scientists. Earlier this year, he was honored by the International Joint Commission on Artificial Intelligence with its 2009 Award for Research Excellence in recognition of “a program of research of consistently high quality yielding several substantial results.” In particular, Lesser’s “seminal work on the foundations of blackboard control architectures and multi-agent systems, and foundational role in the formation of the multi-agent systems community” were cited.

In 2008, Lesser was the co-winner of the International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (IFAAMAS) Influential Paper Award and in 2007 the group established the Victor Lesser Distinguished Dissertation Award to recognize his career-long contributions to the field. In 2006, he received a Special Recognition Award for his foundational research from the Information Processing Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

At UMass Amherst, Lesser was recognized last fall with the Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity, and the Outstanding Faculty Award in the Area of Research (2008) and the Outstanding Teacher Award (2004) from the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

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