Researcher

Paul S. Rosenbloom

Paul S. Rosenbloom received his computer science PhD at Carnegie Mellon in 1983. His research includes Soar, which he developed with John Laird, Allen Newell and other collaborators. A 1986 paper studied chunking as a general learning mechanism, and the 1987 Soar paper set out an architecture for general intelligence. He moved to a project leadership role at USC’s Information Sciences Institute in 1987. His later work combined a broad account of computing with Sigma, a cognitive architecture based on graphical models. He became director of cognitive architecture research at USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies in 2014.

Works
208
Citations
8,226
h-index
38

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026.

Photo of Paul S. Rosenbloom

Timeline

  1. 1976–1983

    Training and a model of practice

    Rosenbloom earned a mathematical sciences degree at Stanford in 1976 and a computer science PhD at Carnegie Mellon in 1983. His dissertation examined chunking of goal hierarchies as a model of practice and stimulus-response compatibility.

  2. 1986–1987

    Learning inside Soar

    With John Laird and Allen Newell, Rosenbloom published work on chunking in Soar in 1986. The three researchers published the general intelligence architecture paper in 1987.

  3. 1987–2012

    USC and a wider account of computing

    He became a project leader at USC’s Information Sciences Institute in 1987. Work on new research directions later informed his 2012 book On Computing, which examined relationships between computing and other scientific fields.

  4. 2013–2014

    A graphical cognitive architecture

    In a January 2013 interview, Rosenbloom described returning to cognitive architecture research with Sigma. Sigma is based on graphical models. He became Director for Cognitive Architecture Research at ICT in 2014.

Sources and credits

Photo: viterbi.usc.edu; creator not stated; embedded labels: EXIF:Copyright = ©SDK Photo & Design; EXIF:Artist = Stephanie Davis Kleinman French; XMP:creator = Stephanie Davis Kleinman French. License: Not stated by source. Source: viterbi.usc.edu. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. Paul S. Rosenbloom — Curriculum Vitae, 27 December 2019 viterbi.usc.edu. Checked 13 October 2026.
  2. An Interview with Paul Rosenbloom — USC ICT, 16 January 2013 ict.usc.edu. Checked 13 October 2026.