Roger Schank
Roger Schank studied language processing, cognition and memory organization. His research also developed systems for problem solving, planning and learning. Schank was a professor at Stanford from 1968 to 1973 and at Yale from 1974 to 1989. At Yale, he and Robert Abelson created its Cognitive Science programme. Schank cofounded the journal Cognitive Science in 1977 and founded the Cognitive Science Society in 1979. These activities accompanied his AI and cognition research. Schank joined Northwestern in 1989 to establish its Institute for the Learning Sciences. The institute’s team studied language, cognition and memory and developed systems to support decisions, planning and learning.
- Works
- 265
- Citations
- 21,508
- h-index
- 48
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026.
Timeline
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1968–1989
Stanford and Yale research
Schank was a professor at Stanford from 1968 to 1973 and at Yale from 1974 to 1989. At Yale, he and Robert Abelson created its Cognitive Science programme.
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1977–1979
Building cognitive-science institutions
Schank cofounded the journal Cognitive Science in 1977 and founded the Cognitive Science Society in 1979. These activities accompanied his AI and cognition research.
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1989
Northwestern learning sciences
Schank joined Northwestern in 1989 to establish its Institute for the Learning Sciences. The institute’s team studied language, cognition and memory and developed systems to support decisions, planning and learning.
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2023
A historical research career
He died on 29 January 2023. His contributions spanned AI, cognitive science and learning sciences.
Sources and credits
Photo: sesp.northwestern.edu; In Memoriam: Roger Schank (March 12, 1946 – Jan. 29, 2023): School of Education and Social Policy - Northwestern Univers; creator not stated. License: Not stated by source. Source: sesp.northwestern.edu. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.