PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

David S. Touretzky

David Touretzky is a Carnegie Mellon research professor whose AI work spans connectionist models, robotics, and AI education. He earned computer-science degrees at Rutgers and Carnegie Mellon and published work on nonmonotonic inheritance and distributed connectionist systems. His Tekkotsu work explored robot vision, and he helped found the ARTSI Alliance for robotics and computer-science education. He coauthored a paper on national AI guidelines for K–12 and became a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2020. As of October 2026, he is a co-principal investigator on AI4MiddleSchools and leads its curriculum development.

Works
277
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 19 October 2026. Citations and h-index are hidden because this OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mix in other authors.

Timeline

  1. 1978–1984

    Computer science degrees

    He earns a B.A. in computer science from Rutgers University in 1978 and a Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University in 1984.

  2. 1987–1988

    Inheritance and connectionist systems

    In 1987, he, John F. Horty, and Richmond H. Thomason publish A Clash of Intuitions: The Current State of Nonmonotonic Multiple Inheritance Systems. In 1988, he and Geoffrey Hinton publish A Distributed Connectionist Production System.

  3. 2007–2012

    Models of rodent navigation

    In 2007, he and Mark C. Fuhs publish a study of context learning in the rodent hippocampus. In 2012, he and colleagues publish work on segmentation of spatial experience by hippocampal theta sequences.

  4. 2007

    Robot vision in Tekkotsu

    In 2007, he and four collaborators publish a Tekkotsu paper describing paired iconic and symbolic representations for robot vision.

  5. 2007–2010

    The ARTSI Alliance

    He is one of the founders of the ARTSI Alliance, formed in 2007 to increase the number of African Americans among computer and information scientists. In 2010, NSF extends support for the alliance, and he serves as a lead co-principal investigator.

  6. 2018–2019

    National AI guidelines for schools

    In 2019, he and three collaborators publish Envisioning AI for K-12: What Should Every Child Know about AI?, describing the AAAI–CSTA working group formed in May 2018 to develop national guidelines for teaching AI to K–12 students.

  7. 2020

    A 2020 AAAS Fellowship

    In 2020, he is named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  8. As of October 2026

    Co-leading AI4MiddleSchools

    In 2025, he advises a CMU student project that uses a camera and a deep neural network to help robots navigate classrooms. His current research focuses on robotics and computing education. In 2026, he is a Research Professor in CMU's Computer Science Department and co-principal investigator on AI4MiddleSchools, where he leads curriculum development, while chairing AI4K12, which develops national guidelines for K–12.

Career

  1. NowCarnegie Mellon UniversityResearch Professor
  2. From 2007ARTSI AllianceFounder, Lead co-principal investigator

Education

  1. 1984Carnegie Mellon UniversityPh.D. in computer science
  2. 1978Rutgers UniversityB.A. in computer science

From the biography.

  1. 14% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes David S. Touretzky. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after their doctorate, and how the timing changed across cohorts.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Carnegie Mellon University. Our estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.
  3. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Carnegie Mellon University. Our estimates of combined and median h-index at AI organizations, using current affiliations and OpenAlex records.
  4. The median h-index is 53 at universities and 19 at frontier AI labsIncludes Carnegie Mellon University. The median h-index is 53 at universities and 19 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, citations and moves to estimate how universities and frontier labs contribute to AI research.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of David S. Touretzky yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. ACM/IEEE Computer Society Meeting - What Should K-12 Students Know About Artificial Intelligence? : vTools Events | vTools IEEE events.vtools.ieee.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. Publications by Person | Carnegie Mellon University Computer Science Department csd.cs.cmu.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. David S. Touretzky - Robotics Institute Carnegie Mellon University ri.cmu.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. Dual-coding representations for robot vision in Tekkotsu publications.ri.cmu.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. NSF Extends Program Encouraging African Americans To Pursue Careers in Robotics, Computer Science cs.cmu.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  6. Envisioning AI for K-12: What Should Every Child Know about AI? | Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence ojs.aaai.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  7. Touretzky Named 2020 AAAS Fellow - News - Neuroscience Institute - Carnegie Mellon University cmu.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  8. From Exploration to Innovation: The Impact of SURF Grants - News - Carnegie Mellon University cmu.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  9. AI4MiddleSchools Expands Nationwide Effort To Prepare Students for an AI-Powered Future cs.cmu.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  10. David Touretzky | Carnegie Mellon University Computer Science Department csd.cmu.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.