The American Society for Cybernetics (ASC) is an American non-profit
scholastic organization
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
The word is derived from ...
for the advancement of
cybernetics
Cybernetics is a wide-ranging field concerned with circular causality, such as feedback, in regulatory and purposive systems. Cybernetics is named after an example of circular causal feedback, that of steering a ship, where the helmsperson m ...
as a
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
, a discipline, a meta-discipline and the promotion of cybernetics as basis for an interdisciplinary discourse. The society does this by developing and applying cybernetics’ concepts which are presented and published via its conferences and peer-reviewed publications. As a meta-discipline, it creates bridges between disciplines, philosophies, sciences, and arts. The ASC is a full member of the
International Federation for Systems Research The International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR) is an international federation for global and local societies in the field of systems science. This federation is a non-profit, scientific and educational agency founded in 1980, and constitu ...
(IFSR).
In order to do so it holds conferences and seminars, and maintains contacts with cyberneticians and organizations for cybernetics in other countries. Further activities of the ASC are:
* ASC Glossary on Cybernetics and Systems Theory
* Disciplinary Matrices in Cybernetics and Systems Science
[Disciplinary Matrices in Cybernetics and Systems Science](_blank)
Retrieved 8 June 2008.
* Wiener and McCulloch awards
The American Society for Cybernetics was founded in 1964 in
Washington, DC
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
to encourage new developments in cybernetics as an interdisciplinary field with
Warren McCulloch
Warren Sturgis McCulloch (November 16, 1898 – September 24, 1969) was an American neurophysiologist and cybernetician, known for his work on the foundation for certain brain theories and his contribution to the cybernetics movement.Ken Aizawa ( ...
as first elected president of the ASC.
HISTORY OF THE ASC
Retrieved 8 June 2008. In the 1980s ASC became a member of the International Federation for Systems Research The International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR) is an international federation for global and local societies in the field of systems science. This federation is a non-profit, scientific and educational agency founded in 1980, and constitu ...
, and in the 1990s supported the Principia Cybernetica Principia Cybernetica is an international cooperation of scientists in the field of cybernetics and systems science, especially known for their website, Principia Cybernetica. They have dedicated their organization to what they call "a computer-sup ...
Project.
The ASC has been maintaining an editorial column in the interdisciplinary '' Cybernetics and Human Knowing Journal'' since its first issue in 1992. Rodney Donaldson was the first ASC president to write for the column.
Annual Cybernetics Symposia
First Annual Cybernetics Symposium
The First Annual Cybernetics Symposium of the ASC was held on 26-7 October, 1967 at the National Bureau of Standards
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...
, Gaithersburg
Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-largest location in the state. Ga ...
, Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. The theme was "Purposive Systems: The Edge of Knowledge." The following people made presentations:
* Saul Amarel Saul Amarel (1928 – December 18, 2002) was a professor of computer science at Rutgers University, and best known for his pioneering work in artificial intelligence (AI). He also had a career as a scientist, engineer, and teacher. He was a contribu ...
: "Problems of representation in artificial intelligence"
* Nikolai Amosov
Nikolai Mikhailovich Amosov, Doctor of Science, Professor (December 6, 1913 in Olkhovo, Novgorod Governorate, Russian Empire – December 12, 2002 in Kyiv, Ukraine) was a Soviet and Ukrainian doctor of Russian origin, heart surgeon, inventor, bes ...
: "Simulation of thinking processes"
* Herbert Anschütz: "Prospects for the development of the psychocybernetics of intelligent behavior"
* Yehoshua Bar-Hillel
Yehoshua Bar-Hillel ( he, יהושע בר-הלל; 8 September 1915, in Vienna – 25 September 1975, in Jerusalem) was an Israeli philosopher, mathematician, and linguist. He was a pioneer in the fields of machine translation and formal linguis ...
: "The future of man-machine languages"
* Alexander S. Fraser: "The evolution of purposive behavior"
* Ralph Gerard
Ralph Waldo Gerard (7 October 1900 – 17 February 1974) was an American neurophysiologist and behavioral scientist known for his wide-ranging work on the nervous system, nerve metabolism, psychopharmacology, and biological basis of schizophrenia ...
: "The neurophysiology of purposive behavior"
* Jerrier A. Haddad
Jerrier A. "Jerry" Haddad (July 17, 1922 – March 31, 2017) was an American pioneer computer engineer who was the co-developer and designer of the IBM 701 series which was IBM's first commercial scientific computer and its first mass-produced ...
: "Hardware for purposive systems"
* David Hawkins: "The nature of purpose"
* Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s.
She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard Co ...
: "Cybernetics of Cybernetics"
* Emmanuel G. Mesthene: "How technology will shape the future"
* Talcott Parsons
Talcott Parsons (December 13, 1902 – May 8, 1979) was an American sociologist of the classical tradition, best known for his social action theory and structural functionalism. Parsons is considered one of the most influential figures in sociol ...
: "Facilitating technological innovation in society"
* Frederick Seitz: "The Challenge"
* Ivan Sutherland
Ivan Edward Sutherland (born May 16, 1938) is an American computer scientist and Internet pioneer, widely regarded as a pioneer of computer graphics. His early work in computer graphics as well as his teaching with David C. Evans in that subje ...
: "Facilitating the man-machine interface"
ASC Presidents
* 2021- Paul Pangaro
* 2014-2020 Michael Lissack
Michael Lissack (born 1958) is an American business executive, author, business consultant and former director of the Institute for the Study of Coherence and Emergence. In 2019 Lissack was inducted into the International Academy for Systems and Cy ...
* 2009-2014 Ranulph Glanville
Ranulph Glanville (13 June 1946 – 20 December 2014) was an Anglo-Irish cybernetician and design theorist. He was a founding vice-president of the International Academy for Systems and Cybernetic Sciences (2006–2009) and president of the Amer ...
* 2005-2008 Louis Kauffman
Louis Hirsch Kauffman (born February 3, 1945) is an American mathematician, topologist, and professor of mathematics in the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is known for the ...
* 2002-2004 Allenna Leonard
* 1999-2001 Pille Bunnell
* 1994-1998 Frank Galuszka
* 1992-1993 Rodney Donaldson
* 1989-1991 Fred Steier
* 1986-1988 Larry Richards Laurence Dale Richards (born 1946) has been a key figure in the modern development (since 1981) of cybernetics as a transdisciplinary field of inquiry, often referred to as the new cybernetics. He was the first to create interdisciplinary masters ...
* 1984-1985 Jon Cunnyngham
* 1983-1984 Bill Reckmeyer
* 1980-1982 Stuart Umpleby
Stuart Anspach Umpleby (born March 5, 1944) is an American cybernetician and professor in the Department of Management and Director of the Research Program in Social and Organizational Learning in the School of Business at the George Washington Un ...
* 1978-1979 Barry Clemson
* 1976-1977 Mark Ozer
* 1975-1976 Herbert Robinson
* 1972-1974 Roy Hermann
* 1970-1971 Carl Hammer
* 1969-1970 Lawrence J. Fogel
Dr. Lawrence Jerome Fogel (March 2, 1928 – February 18, 2007) was a pioneer in evolutionary computation and human factors analysis. He is known as the inventor of active noise cancellation and the father of evolutionary programming. His scient ...
* 1967-1968 Warren McCulloch
Warren Sturgis McCulloch (November 16, 1898 – September 24, 1969) was an American neurophysiologist and cybernetician, known for his work on the foundation for certain brain theories and his contribution to the cybernetics movement.Ken Aizawa ( ...
Wiener and McCulloch awards
The "Wiener Medal in Cybernetics" is an annual award by the American Society for Cybernetics in recognition of outstanding achievements or contributions in the field of cybernetics.[ASC Awards](_blank)
Retrieved 8 June 2008. Since 2005 the award has been redefined to recognize achievements and contributions from younger scholars and researchers working in cybernetics or with applications of cybernetics. Recipients of the Wiener and McCulloch awards:
* 1968: Robert C. Wood
* 1968: Warren McCulloch
Warren Sturgis McCulloch (November 16, 1898 – September 24, 1969) was an American neurophysiologist and cybernetician, known for his work on the foundation for certain brain theories and his contribution to the cybernetics movement.Ken Aizawa ( ...
* 1969: Stuart A. Kauffman
Stuart Alan Kauffman (born September 28, 1939) is an American medical doctor, theoretical biologist, and complex systems researcher who studies the origin of life on Earth. He was a professor at the University of Chicago, University of Pennsylv ...
* 1969: Stephen Grossberg
Stephen Grossberg (born December 31, 1939) is a cognitive scientist, theoretical and computational psychologist, neuroscientist, mathematician, biomedical engineer, and neuromorphic technologist. He is the Wang Professor of Cognitive and Neura ...
* 1970: Stafford Beer
Anthony Stafford Beer (25 September 1926 – 23 August 2002) was a British theorist, consultant and professor at the Manchester Business School. He is best known for his work in the fields of operational research and management cybernetics.
...
* 1972: Natalia Bechtereva
* 1983: Heinz von Foerster
Heinz von Foerster (German spelling: Heinz von Förster; November 13, 1911 – October 2, 2002) was an Austrian American scientist combining physics and philosophy, and widely attributed as the originator of Second-order cybernetics. He was twice ...
* 1984: Gregory Bateson
Gregory Bateson (9 May 1904 – 4 July 1980) was an English anthropologist, social scientist, linguist, visual anthropologist, semiotician, and cyberneticist whose work intersected that of many other fields. His writings include '' Steps to an ...
* 1984: Gordon Pask
Andrew Gordon Speedie Pask (28 June 1928 – 29 March 1996) was an English author, inventor, educational theorist, cybernetician and psychologist who made contributions to cybernetics, instructional psychology, experimental epistemology and ed ...
* 1986: Humberto Maturana
Humberto Maturana Romesín (September 14, 1928 – May 6, 2021) was a Chilean biologist and philosopher. Many consider him a member of a group of second-order cybernetics theoreticians such as Heinz von Foerster, Gordon Pask, Herbert Brün ...
* 1993: Herbert Brun
* 1993: Louis Kauffman
Louis Hirsch Kauffman (born February 3, 1945) is an American mathematician, topologist, and professor of mathematics in the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is known for the ...
* 2001: Klaus Krippendorff
Klaus Krippendorff (1932–2022) was a communication scholar, social science methodologist, and cyberneticist. and was the Gregory Bateson professor for Cybernetics, Language, and Culture at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for C ...
* 2005: Ernst von Glasersfeld
Ernst von Glasersfeld (March 8, 1917, Munich – November 12, 2010, Leverett, Franklin County, Massachusetts) was a philosopher, and emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Georgia, research associate at the Scientific Reasoni ...
* 2007: Pille Bunnell
* 2007: Charles François
* 2007: Laurence Richards
* 2007: Stuart Umpleby
Stuart Anspach Umpleby (born March 5, 1944) is an American cybernetician and professor in the Department of Management and Director of the Research Program in Social and Organizational Learning in the School of Business at the George Washington Un ...
* 2008: Humberto Maturana
Humberto Maturana Romesín (September 14, 1928 – May 6, 2021) was a Chilean biologist and philosopher. Many consider him a member of a group of second-order cybernetics theoreticians such as Heinz von Foerster, Gordon Pask, Herbert Brün ...
* 2008: Francisco Varela
Francisco Javier Varela García (September 7, 1946 – May 28, 2001) was a Chilean biologist, philosopher, cybernetician, and neuroscientist who, together with his mentor Humberto Maturana, is best known for introducing the concept of autopoiesi ...
* 2008: Ricardo Uribe
* 2008: Richard Jung
* 2008: Lars Löfgren
* 2008: Søren Brier
* 2008: Alexander Riegler
* 2011: Mary Catherine Bateson
Mary Catherine Bateson (December 8, 1939 – January 2, 2021) was an American writer and cultural anthropologist.
The daughter of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, Bateson was a noted author in her field with many published monographs. ...
* 2011: Robert Vallée
Robert Vallée (5 October 1922 in Poitiers, France – 1 January 2017, Paris, France) was a French cyberneticist and mathematician. He was Professor at the Paris 13 University (University of Paris-Nord) and president of the World Organization ...
* 2011: Thomas Fischer
* 2012: Susan Parenti
* 2013: Bernard Scott
* 2013: Heinz von Foerster Society
* 2014: Louis H. Kauffman
* 2014: Allenna Leonard
* 2014: Paul Pangaro
* 2014: Randall Whitaker
* 2014: Jennifer Wilby
Jennifer M. Wilby (born 1953) is an American and UK management scientist, and past director of the Centre for Systems Studies, and a senior lecturer and researcher in management systems and sciences in The Business School, University of Hull. Sh ...
* 2015: Ranulph Glanville
* 2016: Julia Frazer and John H. Frazer
* 2016: William J. Reckmeyer
* 2018: Paul Weston
* 2019: Mark Enslin
* 2019: Fred Steier
References
External links
ASC website
by the American Society for Cybernetics
Cybernetics and Human Knowing Journal website
International Federation for Systems Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:American Society For Cybernetics
Cybernetics
Organizations established in 1964
Systems science societies
George Washington University