[CogSci] Jeff Elman

[Michael C. Frank]

Dear all,

I'm writing to share some very sad news with the CogSci community: Jeff
Elman passed away last week. Jeff was both an important figure in the
history of Cognitive Science and a lovely person; we will miss him.

I've attached the official notice from UCSD below my message. There will be
some further remembrances of Jeff at the CSS meeting this month, but I
wanted to make sure that the community was aware of his passing.

all the best,

Mike

----
UC SAN DIEGO

CAMPUS NOTICE

University of California San Diego



                        OFFICE OF THE DEAN -

                DIVISION OF SOCIAL SCIENCES


                     OFFICE OF THE CHAIR -

         DEPARTMENT OF COGNITIVE SCIENCE


                              June 29, 2018



ALL ACADEMICS, STAFF AND STUDENTS AT UC SAN DIEGO


SUBJECT: Passing of Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science Jeffrey

                L. Elman


It is with great and wrenching sadness that we announce the passing of

Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science Jeffrey L. Elman, who died

suddenly on Thursday, June 28. He was 70.


Born January 22, 1948, Elman joined the UC San Diego faculty in 1977 and

for four decades served the campus with extraordinary dedication. Elman

was an original and prolific scholar, deeply committed to research and

to education at all levels. He served as dean of the Division of Social

Sciences from 2006 to 2014. He mentored many students and, as an

accomplished administrator, he helped to expand UC San Diego's

educational and research programs. He will be deeply missed by the

department, the Division of Social Sciences and the university.


Holder of a Chancellor's Associates Endowed Chair, he was most recently

founding co-director of the Halicioglu Data Science Institute at UC San

Diego. A founding member of the Department of Cognitive Science, the

first of its kind in the world, he was also founding director of the

Center for Research in Language and founding co-director of the

university's Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind. After he stepped down

as dean in 2014, he agreed to become the campus's first director of

Online and Technology Enhanced Education to support the expansion of

educational access at UC San Diego.


Elman was a pioneer in artificial neural networks and an internationally

recognized scholar in the field of language processing and learning. His

early TRACE model of speech perception, with Jay McClelland, remains one

of the major theories in the field. In 1990 he developed the Simple

Recurrent Network architecture (the so-called "Elman net") that is today

widely used in many fields to model behaviors that unfold over time. In

recent research, he was using a wide range of scientific methods,

including computational simulations, neuroimaging and behavioral

measures.


As dean, Elman provided a strong vision for the Social Sciences at UC

San Diego as a division that supports research, teaching and service in

the public interest. He led a dynamic and highly ranked academic

division that focuses on some of the most pressing and important social

issues of our time. He spearheaded the development of the Yankelovich

Center for Social Science Research, a center that fosters innovative,

interdisciplinary research addressing issues of social importance. Also

under his leadership, the Center on Global Justice was formalized as an

organized research unit; the Department of Education Studies received

department status; and the Center for Research on Educational Equity,

Assessment, and Teaching Excellence (CREATE) launched the visionary

CREATE STEM Success initiative, linking faculty, staff and students

across multiple campus divisions and the local education community, in a

shared effort to support K-20 STEM education in the San Diego region.


Prior to his service as dean, he served as chair of the Department of

Cognitive Science, from 1995 to 1998, and as associate dean of the

Division of Social Sciences from 2002 to 2006.


Elman earned his bachelor's degree in social relations from Harvard and

his Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin.


Among his honors is the prestigious David E. Rumelhart Prize, which he

received in 2007 in recognition of his groundbreaking contributions to

the theoretical foundations of cognitive science. Elman was elected a

Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016.


Elman is survived by his spouse, Raymond Eller, his children Jeremy

Elman and Erin Elman, Emily Elman and Nate Flansburgh, and his

grandchildren Henry and Elise Elman, Stella and Oliver Flansburgh.


A memorial gathering is being planned. When finalized, information will

be posted on the websites of the Division of Social Sciences, the

Department of Cognitive Science and the Halicioglu Data Science

Institute.



                             Carol Padden

                             Dean

                             Division of Social Sciences


                             Marta Kutas

                             Chair

                             Department of Cognitive Science
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