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Rina Dechter
רינה דכטר
Rina Dechter.jpg
Born (1950-08-13) August 13, 1950 (age 74)
Nationality American, Israeli
Alma mater UCLA (1985, PhD)
Weizmann Institute of Science (1976, MS)
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1973, BS)
Scientific career
Fields Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Institutions Hughes Aircraft Company
Technion
University of California, Irvine
Thesis Studies in the Use and Generation of Heuristics (1985)
Doctoral advisor Judea Pearl

Rina Dechter (born August 13, 1950) is a very important professor of computer science at the University of California, Irvine. She is known for her work in artificial intelligence (AI). Her research helps computers think and solve problems using special rules and probabilities. In 2013, she was recognized as a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery, which is a big honor in the computer world.

Rina Dechter's Education Journey

Rina Dechter studied a lot to become a computer science expert.

Early Studies and Degrees

She earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Science (B.S.), in mathematics and statistics in 1973. She got this from Hebrew University in Israel.

Later, in 1976, she received her Master of Science (M.S.) degree. This was in applied mathematics from the Weizmann Institute, also in Israel.

Doctoral Research at UCLA

In 1985, Rina Dechter completed her Ph.D. in computer science. She earned this advanced degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Her advisor, Judea Pearl, was a famous expert in artificial intelligence.

Career in Computer Science

Rina Dechter has had an exciting career, working at different places and leading important research.

Early Career and Teaching

From 1985 to 1988, she worked at Hughes Aircraft Company. This company is known for its work in aerospace and defense.

After that, she became a senior lecturer in computer science. She taught at the Technion in Israel from 1988 to 1990.

Professor at UC Irvine

In 1990, Professor Dechter moved to the University of California, Irvine. She became a full professor there in 1996. This means she is a top-level teacher and researcher at the university.

From 2005 to 2006, she was a special researcher at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. This is a place where smart people go to focus on their research.

Leading a Scientific Journal

From 2011 to 2018, she was a co-editor-in-chief for the scientific journal Artificial Intelligence. This means she helped decide which important research papers were published in the journal.

Key Research and Contributions

Professor Dechter's work has greatly influenced how computers solve problems.

Constraint Processing

She wrote an important book called Constraint Processing in 2003. This book is a standard text for people studying constraint programming. Constraint programming is about teaching computers to find solutions that fit certain rules or "constraints." For example, if you're planning a party, you might have constraints like "everyone must sit at a table" and "no more than 6 people per table."

Deep Learning Pioneer

Rina Dechter was one of the first people to use the phrase "deep learning" in a paper. She used this term in a research paper way back in 1986. Today, deep learning is a very popular part of artificial intelligence. It helps computers learn from huge amounts of data, like how self-driving cars learn to recognize objects.

Awards and Special Honors

Professor Dechter has received many awards for her amazing work.

Recognitions for Research

In 1991, she received a Presidential Young Investigator Award. This award came from the United States National Science Foundation. It recognizes promising young researchers.

She became a fellow of the American Association of Artificial Intelligence in 1994. This honor is given to people who have made major contributions to AI.

In 2007, she received an award for research excellence. This was from the Association of Constraint Programming.

Fellow of the ACM

In 2013, she was elected a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). This is one of the highest honors in computer science. She received it for her important work on how computers can reason using rules and probabilities.

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