PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Robert L. Simpson Jr.

Robert L. Simpson Jr. was a computer scientist whose applied AI work connected case-based reasoning with tools for analysts, interface design and intelligent agents. He earned a PhD in information and computer science at Georgia Tech under Janet Kolodner in 1985 and led DARPA’s Machine Intelligence program from 1985 to 1990. At NCR, he directed the Human Interface Technology Center; he also developed case-based systems for dispute mediation and intelligence analysis and created PreAct at Applied Systems Intelligence. He died in 2020, aged 74.

Badges

Timeline

  1. 1985–1989

    Georgia Tech and MEDIATOR

    He earns a PhD in Georgia Tech’s Department of Information and Computer Science under Janet Kolodner in 1985. His dissertation presents a case-based reasoning model for dispute mediation; in 1989, he and Kolodner publish “The MEDIATOR: Analysis of an Early Case-Based Problem Solver.”

  2. 1985–1990

    DARPA machine intelligence

    From 1985 to 1990, he manages DARPA’s Machine Intelligence program. He retires from the U.S. Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1990.

  3. 1992

    NCR’s interface center

    At NCR, he directs the Human Interface Technology Center, where work includes intelligent software agents, image understanding and spoken language. In 1992, he coauthors “AskJef,” a case-based and multimedia system for interface design support.

  4. 2003–2004

    Case-based analyst support

    At Georgia Tech Research Institute, he serves as a principal research scientist and co-leads an ARDA project on analysts’ knowledge-discovery strategies. In 2004, he and Elizabeth Whitaker publish “Case-Based Reasoning in Support of Intelligence Analysis.”

  5. 2007

    An analyst search tool

    He and Elizabeth Whitaker publish “The Evolution and Evaluation of an Internet Search Tool for Information Analysts” in 2007. The tool adapts case-based search plans to an analyst’s current knowledge-discovery problem.

  6. 2008

    A cognitive decathlon

    He and Charles Twardy publish “Refining the Cognitive Decathlon” in 2008.

  7. By 2020

    AI roles at IET and ASI

    Before his death in 2020, he serves as principal investigator at IET for DARPA’s Personalized Assistants that Learn program and as chief scientist at Applied Systems Intelligence, where he develops PreAct.

  8. 2020

    Death in 2020

    Born in 1946, he dies in 2020 at age 74.

Career

  1. Until 2020IETPrincipal Investigator
  2. Until 2020Applied Systems IntelligenceChief Scientist
  3. 2003–2004Georgia Institute of TechnologyPrincipal Research Scientist
  4. 1992NCR CorporationDirector
  5. Until 1990United States Department of the Air ForceLieutenant Colonel
  6. 1985–1990DARPAManager

Education

  1. 1985Georgia Institute of TechnologyPhD

From the biography.

  1. 11% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Robert L. Simpson Jr.. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduation, how waiting times compare between founders and top jobs, and which universities trained the most.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Georgia Institute of Technology. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes Georgia Institute of Technology. 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.
  4. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public rolesIncludes DARPA. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public roles. Another 97 people moved from public careers into AI organizations or research, with 62% of dated records starting from 2020 on.

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

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  1. Robert L. Simpson Jr. - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Robert L. Simpson Jr. csauthors.net. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Janet L. Kolodner csauthors.net. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Case-Based Reasoning in Support of Intelligence Analysis - AAAI aaai.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. The Evolution and Evaluation of an Internet Search Tool for Information Analysts - AAAI aaai.org. Checked 20 October 2026.