2001 Language Engineering Workshop for Students and Professionals: Integrating Research and Education (WS01)

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

This is a standard award. Automated systems that interact with human users in spoken and written communication will greatly enhance productivity and program usability. These systems will allow friendly access to information services and are essential for people with disabilities, or for accessing databases while performing intricate tasks. Unfortunately, current technology is inadequate for the tasks at hand, and there is a need to make progress. The number of available personnel trained in the field must be vastly increased and solutions to long standing problems must be found. At this time, relatively few universities educate students capable of performing the required tasks. Leading professionals are scattered in various industrial, academic, and governmental institutions, often duplicating each other's work. This award will allow a summer workshop on language engineering to be conducted where mixed teams of leading professionals and students can cooperate to advance the state of the art. The professionals will normally be university professors and industrial and government researchers working in widely dispersed locations. Graduate and undergraduate students will join these teams. The participation of undergraduate students is intended not only as an educational opportunity, but also to broaden the appeal of the language engineering field amongst students considering graduate studies.