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Dr. Art Graesser, professor of psychology and founding co-director of the Institute
for Intelligent Systems at the University of Memphis, will receive the first Presidential
Award for Lifetime Achievement in Research from the University of Memphis. This award
is the University’s highest level of research recognition given to its faculty. It
was established as part of the University’s Centennial fundraising campaign in order
to recognize the vital role and impact of research at the University of Memphis.
“This honor is clearly is the pinnacle of my career,” said Graesser. “I am deeply
appreciative that I am part of a network of talented researchers whose collective
talents and support have made it possible to achieve this level of recognition for
our contributions to the science of learning.”
After joining the U of M’s Psychology Department in 1985, Graesser, along with Dr.
Stan Franklin, established the Institute for Intelligent Systems (IIS) as one of the
first interdisciplinary research centers on campus. IIS research involves approximately
60 faculty and students from the fields of computer science, mathematics, cognitive
psychology, physics, neuroscience, education, linguistics, philosophy, anthropology,
engineering and business.
Graesser is globally renowned as a leader in the learning sciences, with particular
expertise in the fields of text comprehension, question answering, and intelligent
tutoring systems. He has worked on projects funded by the National Science Foundation,
the National Institutes of Health, the Office of Naval Research, the Institute of
Education Sciences and other national funders totaling more than $30 million.
Graesser is a serial collaborator and a devoted teacher, having directly supervised
research and chaired committees for 150 undergraduates, 30 masters level students
and 35 doctoral students, as well as 10 post-doctoral researchers. In addition to
publishing nearly 500 articles in journals, books and conference proceedings, he has
written two books and edited 11. He and his colleagues have designed, developed, and
tested software in learning, language, and discourse technologies, including AutoTutor,
AutoTutor-lite, MetaTutor, GuruTutor, DeepTutor, HURA Advisor, SEEK Web Tutor, Operation
ARIES!, iSTART, Writing-Pal, AutoCommunicator, Point & Query, Question Understanding
Aid (QUAID), QUEST and Coh-Metrix.
In announcing the award, University President Shirley Raines said, “Dr. Graesser is
among our most productive researchers and has a significant, exemplary and sustained
record of academic scholarship, research collaboration, mentoring and University citizenship.”
The award will be presented to Graesser in a public ceremony during the University’s
Centennial Research Celebration on Feb. 28, 2012.
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