Jeffrey L. Elman
Also known as Jeff Elman, Jeffrey Locke Elman
Jeffrey Elman was a distinguished professor of cognitive science at UC San Diego whose neural-network model is used in fields from economics to physics. In 1990 he introduced the Simple Recurrent Network, which is known as the Elman net and has inspired deep learning and branches of machine learning. With Jay McClelland, he developed the TRACE model of speech perception in the 1980s. He served as dean of the Division of Social Sciences from 2006 to 2014 and received the Rumelhart Prize in 2007. He died in June 2018 at age 70.
- Works
- 180
- Citations
- 33,137
- h-index
- 59
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.
Timeline
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1948–1965
Growing up in Palisades
He is born in Burbank, California, in 1948. He graduates from Palisades High School in 1965.
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1969–1977
A linguistics doctorate
He graduates from Harvard in 1969. In 1977 he earns a Ph.D. in linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin and joins the UC San Diego faculty.
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1980s
The TRACE model
With Jay McClelland, he develops the TRACE model of speech perception in the 1980s.
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1990
The Simple Recurrent Network
In 1990 he introduces the Simple Recurrent Network, an artificial neural network, in a paper called Finding Structure in Time. The model is known as the Elman net and is used in many fields, from economics to physics, to model behaviors that unfold over time. It has inspired deep learning and branches of machine learning.
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1996
The book Rethinking Innateness
He co-writes the book Rethinking Innateness in 1996, a work that argues against a nativist view of development.
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2006–2014
Dean of Social Sciences
He serves as dean of the Division of Social Sciences from 2006 to 2014, and he spearheads the development of the Yankelovich Center for Social Science Research. After stepping down as dean in 2014, he agrees to become the first director of Online and Technology Enhanced Education at UC San Diego.
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2007–2016
A Rumelhart Prize
He receives the David E. Rumelhart Prize in 2007 for contributions to the theoretical foundations of cognitive science. He is elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016.
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June 2018
Death at age 70
He dies in June 2018 at age 70, while still serving UC San Diego as a distinguished professor of cognitive science and founding co-director of the Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute.
Sources and credits
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