PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Terry Winograd

Terry Winograd built SHRDLU, a natural-language program that took typed English and moved colored blocks with a simulated arm in a tabletop world. He earned a mathematics BA at Colorado College and an applied mathematics PhD at MIT, then taught at MIT and moved to Stanford. With Fernando Flores, he coauthored Understanding Computers and Cognition; later, he edited Bringing Design to Software, which applied design thinking to human-computer systems. At Stanford, he directed the HCI Group for 20 years and joined the d.school's founding faculty; IJCAI gave him its 1971 Computers and Thought Award and ACM SIGCHI gave him its 2011 Lifetime Research Award. As of October 2026, he is professor emeritus of computer science at Stanford.

Works
298
Citations
36,279
h-index
68

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026.

Photo of Terry Winograd

Timeline

  1. 1966–1970

    A mathematics education

    He earns a mathematics BA at Colorado College in 1966 and an applied mathematics PhD at MIT in 1970.

  2. 1968–1971

    Language in a blocks world

    At MIT, he writes SHRDLU, a natural-language program that takes typed English and moves colored blocks with a simulated arm in a tabletop world. IJCAI gives him its Computers and Thought Award in 1971.

  3. 1970–1973

    From MIT to Stanford

    He is an instructor in mathematics and assistant professor of electrical engineering at MIT from 1970 to 1973. In 1973, he leaves MIT for Stanford.

  4. 1987

    A new foundation for design

    With Fernando Flores, he publishes Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design. The book takes a critical look at AI and suggests new directions for integrating computer systems into human activity.

  5. 1996

    Designing software for people

    He edits Bringing Design to Software, which introduces a design-thinking approach into the design of human-computer systems.

  6. 2011

    An award for HCI research

    He receives ACM SIGCHI's Lifetime Research Award.

  7. By 2013

    Directing Stanford HCI

    At Stanford, he creates and directs the Human-Computer Interaction Group and its teaching and research program in HCI design for 20 years. He is a founding faculty member of the d.school. By 2013, he has retired his regular faculty position and stays closely involved with the department.

  8. As of October 2026

    A professor emeritus

    At Stanford, he is professor emeritus of computer science, with a focus on human-computer interaction design and technologies for development.

Sources and credits

Photo: boltron, via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: commons.wikimedia.org. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. Terry Winograd | FSI fsi.stanford.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Overview · SHRDLU (1968–70) critical-code-studies.github.io. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. IJCAI Awards | IJCAI ijcai.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Terry Winograd home page - Winograd CV sites.google.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Siri, Who Is Terry Winograd? strategy-business.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Professor Terry Winograd | Center for Human Rights and International Justice humanrights.stanford.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. Terry Winograd | Computer Science cs.stanford.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Terry Winograd ’66 - Colorado College coloradocollege.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  9. 2013 | Stanford Computer Science www-dev.cs.stanford.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.