PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Robert J. Marks II

Robert J. Marks II is an electrical engineer and AI researcher whose career spans neural networks, computational intelligence and information-based search. He earned degrees at Rose-Hulman and Texas Tech, then researched neural networks at the University of Washington, led the IEEE Neural Networks Council and edited IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks. He coauthored Neural Smithing, joined Baylor after 26 years at Washington, and coauthored 2009 work on information measures for search. As of October 2026, he is a Distinguished Professor at Baylor and director of the Walter Bradley Center, and serves on Cornerstone University's President's AI Advisory Board.

Now at
Baylor University, Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence and Cornerstone University
Born
1950
Works
15
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026. Citations and h-index are hidden because this OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mix in other authors.

Timeline

  1. 1972–1977

    Rose-Hulman to Texas Tech

    He earns B.S. and M.S. degrees at Rose-Hulman in 1972 and 1973, then completes a Ph.D. at Texas Tech in 1977.

  2. 1977–2003

    Faculty at Washington

    He serves on the University of Washington faculty from 1977 to 2003.

  3. 1990

    Neural-network research at Washington

    With J.N. Hwang and L.E. Atlas, he coauthors a 1990 paper on recent results and applications in neural-network research at the University of Washington.

  4. 1990–1996

    IEEE neural networks leadership

    The IEEE Neural Networks Committee becomes the Council in 1990, and he becomes its first president. In 1996, he serves as editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and explains computational intelligence as an umbrella for neural networks, certain fuzzy systems and evolutionary computation.

  5. 1999

    Neural Smithing

    With Russell Reed, he publishes Neural Smithing in 1999, a practical guide to multilayer perceptrons and feedforward artificial neural networks.

  6. By 2009

    A Baylor professorship

    By 2009, he is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Baylor after 26 years at the University of Washington in Seattle.

  7. 2009

    Information measures for search

    He coauthors Conservation of Information in Search: Measuring the Cost of Success with William Dembski in 2009, proposing measures of endogenous, exogenous and active information to assess how problem-specific knowledge contributes to search.

  8. As of October 2026

    Baylor and the Bradley Center

    As of October 2026, he is a Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Baylor and directs the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. He serves on Cornerstone University's President's AI Advisory Board. In August 2026, he discusses AI's benefits and potential perils on Discovery Institute's Humanize.

Career

  1. NowBaylor UniversityDistinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
  2. NowWalter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial IntelligenceDirector
  3. NowCornerstone UniversityMember
  4. 1977–2003University of WashingtonFaculty

Education

  1. 1977Texas Tech UniversityPh.D.
  2. 1973Rose–Hulman Institute of TechnologyB.S. and M.S.

From the biography.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Baylor University. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of Washington. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  3. Of 943 people shaping AI who worked at Google, 446 work there nowIncludes University of Washington. Our estimates of where the 943 people shaping AI who worked at Google and Google DeepMind work now: 446 at Google and 452 across 278 other organizations.
  4. 20% of people at companies who shape AI also hold a university role, led by Google and Stanford UniversityIncludes University of Washington. We estimate that 539 of the 6,766 people with a known current organization (8%) hold both a university role and a company role, including 20% of people at companies and 13% of people at universities.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Robert J. Marks II en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Robert J. Marks II robertmarks.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Neural Networks and Beyond — An Interview with Robert J. Marks II robertmarks.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Neural Smithing: Supervised Learning in Feedforward Artificial Neural Networks books.google.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Handbook of Fourier Analysis & Its Applications books.google.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Conservation of Information in Search: Measuring the Cost of Success marksmannet.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. President's Artificial Intelligence Advisory Board cornerstone.edu. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Humanize discovery.org. Checked 20 October 2026.