The Social Life of Information John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid
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John's CV:
Honors, Boards, Professional Experience
Publications
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John Seely Brown

John Seely Brown [John at jsb. com] was the Chief Scientist of Xerox Corporation until April 2002 and was also the director of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) until June 2000— a position he held for twelve years. While head of PARC, Brown expanded the role of corporate research to include such topics as organizational learning, complex adaptive systems, micro electrical mechanical system (MEMS) and NANO technology. His personal research interests include digital culture, ubiquitous computing, web service architectures and organizational and individual learning.

John, or as he is often called "JSB, " is a member of the National Academy of Education and a Fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence and of AAAS and a Trustee of Brown University and the MacArthur Foundation. He serves on numerous boards of directors (Corning, Polycom, Varian Medical Systems) and advisory boards. He has published over 100 papers in scientific journals and was awarded the Harvard Business Review's 1991 McKinsey Award for his article, "Research that Reinvents the Corporation" and again in 2002 for his article (with John Hagel) "Your Next IT Strategy. " In 1997 he published the book Seeing Differently: Insights on Innovation (Harvard Business Review Books). He was an executive producer for the award winning film "Art ‹ Lunch ‹ Internet ‹ Dinner, " which won a bronze medal at Worldfest 1994, the Charleston International Film Festival. He received the 1998 Industrial Research Institute Medal for outstanding accomplishments in technological innovation and the 1999 Holland Award in recognition of the best paper published in Research Technology Management in 1998. More recently, he was presented with a 2002 Visionary Award by the Software Development Forum.

JSB received a BA from Brown University in 1962 in mathematics and physics and a PhD from University of Michigan in 1970 in computer and communication sciences. In May of 2000 Brown University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science Degree. It was followed by an Honorary Doctor of Science in Economics conferred by the London Business School in July 2001. He is an avid reader, traveler and motorcyclist. Part scientist, part artist and part strategist, JSB's views are unique and distinguished by a broad view of the human contexts in which technologies operate and a healthy skepticism about whether or not change always represents genuine progress.

1. Honors, etc. 2. Publications 3. Talks

Honorary Doctorates

London Business School, University of London, Honorary Doctor of Science in Economics, July 5, 2001.


Brown University Honorary Doctor of Science, May 29, 2000.

Honors


Software Development Forum Visionary Award, 2002


Harvard Business Review 2001 McKinsey Award for the article "Your Next IT Strategy."

Fellow, The Batten Institute, Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia, 2002

Director's Award for exemplary service to the Central Intelligence Agency and the Intelligence Community as a member of the In-Q-Tel Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2001, awarded by Director of Central Intelligence, December 2001

Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2001

Fellow, International Leadership Forum, 2001.

Senior Fellow, The Design Futures Council, December, 2000.

Brown University 100 most distinguished alumni of the 20th century.

Teleos and Work Frontiers International Ten Most Admired Knowledge Leaders, 2000.

Fellow, International Academy of Management, June 1998.

Distinguished Service Award, New School University, June 1998.

Harvard Business School Service Award, 1998.

Winner of the 1998 Industrial Research Institute Medal for outstanding accomplishments in technological innovation.

Winner of the Holland Award in recognition of the best paper published in Research Technology Management Magazine in 1998 (" Seeing Differently: A Role for Pioneering Research" ).

Fellow, World Economic Forum, 1994-1998.      

Bronze Medal: Ethnic/Cultural Film and Video Production 1994, Worldfest '94, The Charleston International Film Festival, for the videotape " Art * Lunch * Internet * Dinner. "

Harvard Business Review 1991 McKinsey Award for the article " Research that Reinvents the Corporation. "

Fellow, American Association for Artificial Intelligence, 1990.

Board of Directors-Public Companies


Polycom, Inc. , 1999 -

Varian Medical Systems, 1999 -

Corning Incorporated, 1995-

Board of Directors-Private Companies


eCatalystOne, 1999-2003 (will end soon)

Beck Construction, 1999 -

Groxis, 2003 -

Board of Directors Not-for Profit Organizations


Brown University Trustee, 2001 -

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, 2000 -

In-Q-Tel, Board of Trustees, 1999 -

Founder


Institute for Research on Learning

Founding Co-Director, MEMS Industry Group

Advisory Boards-Companies


Savantech, Inc. , 2002 -

iUniverse, Advisory Board, 2001 -

BEA Systems, Strategic Advisor, 2000 -

Forstmann Little & Co. , Advisory Board, 2000 -

General Motors, Science Advisory Committee, 1999

E. M. Warburg Pincus & Co, Inc. , Technical Advisory Board, 1989 -

Advisory Boards-Institutions


Berkeley Institute of Design, Executive Board, 2002-

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argenteria Foundation, 2001-

Media Lab Europe, Board of Advisors, Dublin, Ireland, 2001-

National College of Ireland, Business Advisory Board, 2000 -

Santa Clara University, Center for Science, Technology and Society Advisory Board, 1999-[on leave, 2001-2003]

University of California at Berkeley, Industrial Advisory Board (IAB)-Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Berkeley, CA. 1997-

University of Virginia, Department of Computer Science Advisory Committee, Charlottesville, VA. 1996-

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporation, Corporation Visiting Committee for Architecture and Media Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, MA. 1995- 

Special Activities


ACM Newell Award Committee, 2000 -2006

Judge, Merrill Lynch Forum's Innovation Grants Competition, 1998, 1999, 2000.

Judge, Harvard Business Review McKinsey Award, 1998.

Congressional Testimony, " Capitalizing on the Nation's Knowledge: Making Use of What We Know, " before the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, Washington, DC, 15 September 1989.

Congressional Testimony, " The Impact of the Information Age on the Conduct and Communications of Science, " before the Committee on Science and Technology, Washington, DC, September 1985.

Member of Research Briefing Panel for White House Science Advisors on Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, June 27-28, 1983.

Co-chairman, Research Briefing Panel on Information Technology in PreCollege Education, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, August 1984.

Guest on MacNeil-Lehrer Report:   Computers in the Classroom, July 8, 1982.

Congressional Testimony, " Computers in a Learning Society, " before the Committee on Science and Technology, Washington, DC, October 1977.

Editorial Boards


Forbes ASAP

Sloan Management Review

Reflections: The Journal of the Society for Organizational Learning

Patents


Document Copy Authentication. USP 5, 157, 726. October 1992.

Digital Imaging System using two-dimensional input sensor array and output light valve. USP 5, 627, 662. May 1997.

Method and apparatus for supplementing significant portions of a document selected without document image decoding with retrieved information. USP 5, 748, 805. September 1998.

Digital Highlight Color Copier. Patents pending.

Using fontless structured document image representations to render displayed and printed documents at preferred resolutions. USP 6, 011, 905. January 2000.

Relabeling of tokenized symbols in fontless structured document image representations. USP 6, 275, 301. August 2001.

Education


B. A. (Mathematics and Physics), Brown University 1962

M. S. (Mathematics), University of Michigan 1964

Ph. D. (Computer and Communication Sciences), University of Michigan 1972

Professional Experience


Chief Innovation Officer, 12 Entrepreneuring, Inc. , 2000 - 2001 (half time)

Chief Scientist, Xerox Corporation, 2000-2002 (half time)

Corporate Vice President, Xerox Corporation 1990-2002

Chief Scientist, Xerox Corporation, 1992-2000

Director, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, 1990-2000

Vice President, Advanced Research, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, 1986-1990
I was responsible for setting the long-term research directions at PARC and for establishing a congruence between corporate strategy and research. I created a new research focus involving the structure and use of documents and redirected many of the research programs. I was engaged in the strategic repositioning of basic research within Xerox.

Associate Director, Institute for Research on Learning, 1986 -1990
I played a major role in the founding of this non-profit institute, which is intended to provide a scientific basis for addressing the problems of lifelong learning.

Director, Intelligent Systems Laboratory, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) 1984-1986
I established this multidisciplinary laboratory of approximately 75 researchers in order to build robust intelligent systems informed by a serious study of both natural and artificial intelligence. I also started the AI business unit for Xerox and helped direct its software and hardware efforts. I expanded my personal research into the development of a qualitative calculus for problem solving in physics with Johan de Kleer and the development of new technologies for enhancing collaborative work with Richard Burton.

Principal Scientist, Cognitive and Instructional Sciences, Palo Alto Research Center 1978-1984
I founded a research group to investigate how people understand and use complex systems. In collaboration with Kurt van Lehn, I developed Repair Theory, a formal theory for prediction and explanation of bugs in children's arithmetic. In collaboration with Johan de Kleer, I developed a computational framework for the representation of mental models, qualitative reasoning and envisioning.

Senior Scientist, Bolt Beranek and Newman 1973-1978
I established the ICAI Group. This group developed novel learning environments using AI techniques for hypothesis evaluation, diagnosis and question answering. With Richard Burton I designed and constructed SOPHIE, a system for teaching electronic troubleshooting, WEST, the first computer-based coach, and BUGGY, a system for diagnosing procedural errors in elementary mathematics. Each of these systems turned on inventing efficient computational mechanisms for logical inference.

Assistant Professor, University of California, Irvine, joint appointment in the Departments of Computer Science and Psychology 1969 - 1973
I developed a graduate program that focused on AI, formal models of Computer Science, and Cognitive Science. I developed a technique for qualitatively modeling physical processes using finite state machine theory.

Professional Societies


American Physical Society

American Association for Artificial Intelligence

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Association for Computing Machinery

International Academy of Management

National Academy of Education

Past Board Memberships


Board of Directors, The Idea Factory, 2000-2001

Board of Directors, General Instrument Corporation, 1993 - 2000.

Board of Directors, Varian Associates Inc. , 1998-1999.

Board of Directors, FX Palo Alto Laboratories, 1995- 2000.

Board of Directors, Xerox Imaging Systems, 1992-1993.

Board of Directors, Wilson Learning Corporation, 1987 - 1988.

Board of Directors, WordStar International Corporation, 1983-1990.

Research & Development Board Member, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , 1987-1988.

Past Advisory Boards


The Tech Museum of Innovation, Board of Directors, 2000 - [on leave, 2001-2002]

Questia Media, Inc. Advisory Council, 2000-2002

CriticalPoint Software, Science Advisory Board, July 2000 - 2002

Brown University Ad-Hoc Committee on Technology & the University, 2000-

New School for Social Research, Information Technology Advisory Board, New York, NY. 1995- 2002

University of Michigan, President's Advisory Group, Ann Arbor, MI, 1993-

American Association for Higher Education, 1997-2002

Coactive Networks, Advisory Board, 2000-2002

Viant, Advisory Board, 2000-2001

Stanford University School of Engineering, Center for Work, Technology, and Organization, Stanford, CA. 1996-2000.

The National Academies, Steering Committee for Exploratory Study on the Impact of Information Technology on the Future of the Research University, 2000.

University of Michigan, Corporate Advisory Committee, College of Literature, Science & the Arts, 1998-2000.

Kent Ridge Digital Laboratories, International Review Board, Singapore, 1998-2001.

NetLearn, Board of Advisors, 1999-2000.

AT& T, Technical Advisory Board, 1999-2000.

Viant Corporation, Advisory Board, 1999-2000.

Institute for Research on Learning, Advisory Council, Menlo Park, CA, 1988-2000.

Wharton School Information Management Initiatives (IMI) Advisory Board, 1999.

GoColor. com, 1999.

Stanford Learning Laboratory Advisory Board, 1998.

InfoWorld Futures Project (IFP) Advisory Board, San Mateo, CA. 1997-1998.

Animation Science Corporation, Technology Advisory Committee, Sunnyvale, CA. 1997-1999.

Digital Projects Lab (DPL), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. 1997.

California Citizens Commission on Higher Education, Center for Government Studies, Los Angeles, CA. 1996-1999.

University of Michigan, School of Information Advisory Board, Ann Arbor, MI. 1996 -

Advanced Research Directions Committee, School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. 1995.

Information Design Association, New York, NY.

Member, Executive Committee, Institute for International Studies. 1995-96.

International Advisory Committee (IAC) of the Information Technology Institute, Singapore, 1994-1998.

Advisory Committee to the Council on Competitiveness, Washington, DC.

International Review Board (IRB) of the Institute of Systems Science, Singapore, 1994-1998.

Carnegie Mellon University Computer Science Advisory Board, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.

Editorial Advisory Committee, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, Boston, MA, 1993 -1996.

Computer Science Visiting Committee, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 1993-1995.

Maxis Advisory Board, Orinda, CA, 1993-1995.

Advisory Committee Center for Advanced Medical Informatics, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 1992-1995.

Advisory Board, Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), An International Journal, Dordrecht, Netherlands.

Stanford University Computer Science Department Visiting Committee, Stanford, CA 1991-1994.

National Advisory Board, Center for Research on the Context of Secondary School Teaching, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 1989 - 1993.

Advisory Board, Center on Technology in Education, Bank Street College, New York, NY, 1988-1993.

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Resources, Washington, DC, 1988-1991.

Advisory Board, Institute for the Mind of the Child, The National Learning Center, Washington, DC.

Advisory Board, Institute for Learning Technologies, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY.

Editorial Advisory Board, AI Expert, CL Publications, San Francisco, CA.

Advisory Board, San Francisco World Center, San Francisco, CA, 1987-1988.

Editorial Advisory Board, Technology and Learning Newsletter, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Publishers, Hillsdale, NJ, 1986 - 1990.

Xerox Experts Program, Xerox Corporate Headquarters, Stamford, CT, 1986-1987.

National Advisory Committee, Division of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1985 - 1990.

Executive Council, American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), Menlo Park, CA 1985-1990.

Presidential Advisory Committee on Computers in Education, Brown University, Providence, RI, 1984-1987

Past Editorial Boards


Learning in Doing series, J. S. Brown (Founding Ed. ) and R. Pea (Ed. ), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U. K.

Artificial Intelligence

Human-Computer Interaction

Journal of Educational Computing Research

Computational Models of Cognition and Perception

Cognitive Psychology

Journal of Children's Mathematical Behavior

Cognitive Science

Cognition and Instruction

International Journal of Man-Machine Studies
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