Ronald M. Kaplan
Ronald M. Kaplan researches computational linguistics and language technology. His shared work includes lexical-functional grammar, active-chart parsing and finite-state methods. Kaplan earned a Berkeley degree in mathematics and language behaviour in 1968, followed by Harvard social-psychology master’s and doctoral degrees in 1970 and 1975. Kaplan worked with Martin Kay on active-chart parsing and with Joan Bresnan on lexical-functional grammar. He also contributed to finite-state methods for phonological and morphological language systems. ACL named Kaplan its 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Kaplan held research leadership roles at PARC, Powerset, Nuance and Amazon.
- Works
- 73
- Citations
- 4,344
- h-index
- 30
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026.
Timeline
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1968–1975
Language and psychology training
Kaplan earned a Berkeley degree in mathematics and language behaviour in 1968, followed by Harvard social-psychology master’s and doctoral degrees in 1970 and 1975.
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2019
Lifetime language-research recognition
ACL named Kaplan its 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Kaplan held research leadership roles at PARC, Powerset, Nuance and Amazon.
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As of October 2026
Grammatical and parsing models
Kaplan worked with Martin Kay on active-chart parsing and with Joan Bresnan on lexical-functional grammar. He also contributed to finite-state methods for phonological and morphological language systems.
Sources and credits
Photo: mercurynews.com; Q&A: Scientist Ronald Kaplan, on the future of voice technology – The Mercury News; creator not stated. License: Not stated by source. Source: mercurynews.com. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.