PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Bart Kosko

Also known as Bart Andrew Kosko

Bart Kosko is a professor and author whose work covers fuzzy logic, neural networks and noise, and whose 2025 paper uses an LLM agent to generate fuzzy cognitive maps. He earned degrees at USC, UC San Diego and UC Irvine, finishing a PhD in electrical engineering in 1987. His books include Fuzzy Thinking, published in 1993, and Noise, published in 2006, which argues that even the most annoying racket can be beneficial. In 2017 he received the IJCNN-2017 Best Paper Award for a paper on using noise to speed up video classification, and in 2022 he received the Hebb Award from the International Neural Network Society. He is a professor at USC's Viterbi School of Engineering and at its Gould School of Law.

Works
202
Citations
18,443
h-index
44

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1982–1987

    Degrees from USC to Irvine

    At USC he earns bachelor's degrees in philosophy and economics in 1982, then a master's in applied mathematics at UC San Diego in 1983 and a PhD in electrical engineering at UC Irvine in 1987.

  2. 1987

    Joining a neural sciences program

    USC hires him in 1987 to join its then-new Neural, Informational and Behavioral Sciences program.

  3. 1993

    The trade book Fuzzy Thinking

    A trade book, Fuzzy Thinking: The New Science of Fuzzy Logic, appears in 1993.

  4. 2006

    The book Noise

    In 2006 his new book Noise argues that even the most annoying racket can be beneficial.

  5. 2017

    A best paper on video classification

    His co-authored paper on using noise to speed up video classification wins the IJCNN-2017 Best Paper Award from the 2017 IEEE-INNS International Joint Conference on Neural Networks.

  6. 2022

    The Donald O. Hebb Award

    The International Neural Network Society gives him its Donald O. Hebb Award in 2022.

  7. 2025

    Fuzzy cognitive maps and LLM agents

    A co-written paper on generating feedback fuzzy cognitive maps with an LLM agent appears in the proceedings of the 24th IEEE International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications, held in Boca Raton, Florida, in December 2025.

  8. As of October 2026

    A professor at USC

    He is a professor at USC's Viterbi School of Engineering and at its Gould School of Law.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Bart Kosko yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Bart Kosko - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  2. Kosko receives Hebb Award from International Neural Network Society - USC Viterbi | School of Engineering viterbischool.usc.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  3. Now Hear This! | WIRED wired.com. Checked 15 October 2026.
  4. Professor Bart Kosko - University of Southern California sipi.usc.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  5. INNS Award Recipients inns.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  6. Professor Bart Kosko - University of Southern California sipi.usc.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  7. USC - Viterbi School of Engineering - Viterbi Faculty Directory viterbi.usc.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.