Symposium in Honor of AI Pioneer Professor Leonard Uhr’s Intellectual Legacy

October 20-21, 2023

Leonard Uhr (1927 – October 5, 2000) was an American computer scientist and a pioneer in computer vision, pattern recognition, machine learning and cognitive science. He was an expert in many aspects of human neurophysiology and perception, and a central theme of his research was to design artificial intelligence systems based on his understanding of how the human brain works. He was one of the early proponents of incorporation into artificial intelligence algorithms of methods for dealing with uncertainty.

Uhr published eight books (as author and/or editor) and nearly 150 journal and conference papers. His seminal work was an article written in 1963 with Charles Vossler, “A Pattern Recognition Program That Generates, Evaluates, and Adjusts Its Own Operators”, reprinted in Computers and Thought — edited by Edward Feigenbaum and J. Feldman — which showcases the work of the scientists who defined the field of artificial intelligence. He was a Ph.D. major professor for 20 students, many of whom have gone on to become in their own right important contributors to artificial intelligence.

Uhr graduated from Princeton University in 1949 with a B.A. in psychology. He received master’s degrees in philosophy from the University of Brussels and Johns Hopkins University in 1951 before obtaining his Ph.D. in psychology in 1957 from the University of Michigan. As a child, Uhr attended Oak Lane Country Day School outside Philadelphia.

Uhr was a professor of computer science and of neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Prior to that, he was also on the faculty of psychology at the University of Michigan.

The schedule for Friday, Oct 20th afternoon is as follows:

(at Computer Sciences, Room 1240, 1210 W Dayton St. Madison, WI 53706)

Opening remarks by Prof. Jerry Zhu and Prof. Vasant Honavar: 12:45–1:00 p.m.

Session 1 (3 speakers, 20 mins + 5 mins Q&A each): 1:00–2:15 p.m.

• 1:00–1:25 p.m.: Rob Nowak, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison 
• 1:25–1:50 p.m.: Yin Li, Assistant Professor, Biostatistics & Medical Informatics Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 1:50–2:15 p.m.: Jerry Zhu, Professor, Computer Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Break 2:15–2:30 p.m. 

Session 2 (3 speakers, 20 mins + 5 mins Q&A each): 2:30–3:45 p.m.

• 2:30–2:55 p.m.: Ramya Korlakai Vinayak, Assistant Professor, ECE Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 2:55–3:20 p.m.: Yudong Chen, Associate Professor, Computer Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 3:20–3:45 p.m.: Pedro Morgado, Assistant Professor, ECE Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Break 3:45–4:00 p.m.

Session 3 (3 speakers, 20 mins + 5 mins Q&A each): 4:00–5:15 p.m.

• 4:00–4:25 p.m.: Kangwook Lee, Assistant Professor, ECE Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 4:25–4:50 p.m.: Qiaomin Xie, Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 4:50–5:15 p.m.: Frederic Sala, Assistant Professor, Computer Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Reception Friday, Oct 20th evening: 

6:30–8 p.m.

At Pyle Center, Lee Lounge (Room 109); 702 Langdon St, Madison, WI 53706

Schedule for Saturday, Oct 21st:

At Pyle Center, Alumni Lounge; 702 Langdon St, Madison, WI 53706

Yannis Ioannidis invited talk: 9:00–10:15 a.m.

• https://www.acm.org/about-acm/officer-bios

Break: 10:15–10:30 a.m.

10:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m.

• Opening remarks (Vasant Honavar and Ganesh Mani)
• Lee Giles invited talk (30 mins plus Q&A)
• Reminiscences (short talks about 12 minutes each): Pat Hanrahan, Matt Zeidenberg, Bob Douglass, Seng Beng Ho, Vasant Honavar, Ganesh Mani, Pete Sandon
• Video remarks by Virginio Cantoni
• Reading of Rick LeFaivre’s written reflection (by Pat Hanrahan)
• Remarks by Len’s family

Lunch, followed by informal discussion: 12:45–2:30 p.m.

Dinner (hosted by Pat Hanrahan for Len’s family, students and colleagues) 

October 20th (Friday) afternoon (1-5:15 p.m.):
Computer Sciences, Room 1240
1210 W Dayton St. Madison, WI 53706

October 20th (Friday) evening:
Pyle Center, Lee Lounge (Room 109)
702 Langdon St, Madison, WI 53706

October 21st (Saturday) 
Pyle Center, Alumni Lounge
702 Langdon St, Madison, WI 53706

Emeritus Professor Chuck Dyer, UW-Madison

Associate Professor Mohit Gupta, UW-Madison

Professor Pat Hanrahan, Stanford University

Professor Vasant Honavar, Penn State University

Assistant Professor Kirthevasan Kandasamy, UW-Madison

Associate Professor Yong Jae Lee, UW-Madison

Professor Ganesh Mani, Carnegie Mellon University

Associate Professor Matthew Zeidenberg, New York University