Kenneth M. Ford is an American computer scientist who is the chief executive officer of the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), a research center affiliated with the

State University System of Florida The State University System of Florida (SUSF or SUS) is a system of twelve public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2018, over 341,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities. Together with the Florida College Syst ...

. He resides in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

, with his wife Nancy.

Early life and education

Ford was born in 1955 to Gayle Kenneth Ford and Lavonne Jewell Ford. He attended

East Greenwich High School East Greenwich High School is a public secondary school located in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, U.S. The school serves students in grades 9–12 in the East Greenwich Public Schools system. EGHS is the highest-performing public high school in t ...

and

Rhode Island College Rhode Island College (RIC) is a public college in Providence, Rhode Island. The college was established in 1854 as the Rhode Island State Normal School, making it the second oldest institution of higher education in Rhode Island after Brown Uni ...

. Ford served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1976 to 1983. He obtained a B.S. from New Hampshire College in 1983, his M.S. in systems science from the University of West Florida in 1984, and a Ph.D. in computer science from

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

in 1988. He became an assistant professor in computer science at the University of West Florida in 1988 and a full professor in 1997. In the early 1990s, he and fellow University of West Florida professor Alberto Cañas cofounded IHMC on the University of West Florida campus.

Career

Ford is best known for his contributions in the areas of AI and human-centered computing, as well as the co-founding of IHMC in 1990. The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence elected Ford a fellow in 2000 for his "leadership in exploring and explaining foundational issues and in establishing large-scale AI research programs and institutions." Ford has served as IHMC's director since its founding, except for 1997 and 1998 when he took a leave of absence to work at

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

. The agency asked Ford to establish and direct its new Center of Excellence (COE) for Information Technology at the Ames Research Center. He spent the next two years at NASA as the COE's director as well as the associate director of NASA's Ames Research Center before returning to Florida and IHMC. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

nominated Ford in 2002 to serve on the National Science Board. The Senate confirmed the nomination, and Ford served on the board from 2002 to 2008. He also served as a member of the United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board from 2005 to 2009. In 2007, Ford was appointed to the

NASA Advisory Council The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

. On October 16, 2008, Ford was named as chairman – a capacity in which he served until October 2011. In February 2012, Ford was appointed to the

Defense Science Board The Defense Science Board (DSB) is a committee of civilian experts appointed to advise the U.S. Department of Defense on scientific and technical matters. It was established in 1956 on the recommendation of the second Hoover Commission. Charter ...

(DSB), and in 2013 he became a member of the Advanced Technology Board (ATB) which supports the Office of the

Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior, cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Commu ...

(ODNI). In 2018, Ford was named to the 15-member National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, a congressionally mandated commission assigned to address AI issues related to the national security and defense needs of the United States. Since 2016, he has been the co-host of IHMC's podcast, ''STEM-Talk'', an educational service of the institute that is described as "conversations with some of the most interesting people in the world of science and technology."

Honors and awards

NASA awarded Ford its

Outstanding Leadership Medal "Outstanding" is a song originally performed by the Gap Band and written by member Raymond Calhoun. The song originally appeared on the group's platinum-selling 1982 album ''Gap Band IV''. It is one of their signature songs and biggest hits, rea ...

in 1999 for his leadership at NASA Ames Research Center. In 2005, Ford received the ''Doctor Honoris Causa'' from the University of Bordeaux. After becoming an AAAI fellow in 2000, Ford received the Robert S. Engelmore Memorial Award from AAAI in 2008. In August 2010, Dr. Ford was awarded NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal – the highest civilian honor the agency confers. In 2012, Tulane University named Ford its Outstanding Alumnus in the

School of Science and Engineering The School of Science and Engineering Magnet (known as the School of Science and Engineering or SEM) is a magnet college preparatory high school located in the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center, home of six magnet high schools in the Dalla ...

. In 2015, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence named Ford the recipient of the 2015 Distinguished Service Award. Also in 2015, Dr. Ford was elected as Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

(AAAS). In 2017, Ford was inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. In 2020, '' Florida Trend'' named Ford one of its Living Legends, a list of all-time influential Florida leaders in business, medicine, academia, entertainment, politics, and sport.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Kenneth M. American computer scientists American nonprofit chief executives 1955 births 21st-century American inventors Institute directors People from Pensacola, Florida Living people Fellows of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence