Research

Research Projects and Sample Publications

Anthony Francis is a Ph.D. candidate in Artificial Intelligence at the College of Computing of the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his B.S. in Information and Computer Science from Georgia Tech in 1991, and expects to complete his Ph.D. in 1996. He is conducting research into memory, reasoning and the utility problem under the direction of his thesis advisor, Ashwin Ram. His other research interests include agents, natural language understanding, case-based reasoning, distributed artificial intelligence, semiotics and cognitive science. He is also a professional science fiction writer.

Ph.D. Thesis

Anthony held his thesis proposal in late May. His thesis committee is:

Dr. Ashwin Ram (computer science)

Dr. Janet Kolodner (computer science)

Dr. Kurt Eiselt (computer science)

A copy of his thesis proposal is now on-line in postscript or HTML format.

Research Groups:

Anthony participates in several research groups at Georgia Tech, including the IGOR Group, the NLR Group, the Creativity Group, and, of course, the AI and Cognitive Science Groups.

The IGOR Group Research in learning, case-based reasoning, natural language understanding, creativity, education, and cognitive science.
The NLR group An interdisciplinary research group investigating natural language issues.
Artificial Intelligence Group The College of Computing's Artificial Intelligence program.
Cognitive Science Group The interdisciplinary Cognitive Science program at Georgia Tech.

Research projects and sample publications:

Anthony Francis has published papers in the AAAI Workshop on Case-Based Reasoning, the Knowledge Compilation and Speedup Learning Workshop, and the European Conference on Machine Learning.

The Utility Problem
The utility problem arises when knowledge learned to improve a problem solver's performance degrades it instead. Anthony is investigating methodologies for the study of the utility problem and has applied those methodologies to case-based reasoning and control-rule learning systems.
- Francis, A.G., & Ram, A. (1993). The Utility Problem in Case-Based Reasoning. Abstracted in AAAI-CBR-93, the Proceedings of the 1993 Case-Based Reasoning Workshop.
- Francis, A.G., & Ram, A. (1993). Computational Models of the Utility Problem and their Application to an Analysis of Case-Based Reasoning. In KCSL-93: Proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Knowledge Compilation and Speedup Learning.
- Francis, A.G. and Ram, A. (1994). A Comparative Utility Analysis of Case-Based and Control-Rule Learning Systems. In AAAI-CBR-94: Workshop Notes on the AAAI-94 Workshop on Case-Based Reasoning..
- Francis, A.G. and Ram, A. (1995). A Comparative Utility Analysis of Case-Based Reasoning and Control-Rule Problem Solving. In ECML-95: Proceedings of the Eighth European Conference on Machine Learning.
Memory in Humans and Computers
Anthony's research on memory investigates the advantages of spontaneous, asynchronous remindings and their effects on problem solving. He has implemented a memory module, MOORE (the Memory Organization and Optimized Retrieval Engine), which is a testbed for these ideas. MOORE is designed to be a portable, generic memory system capable of use in many different kinds of AI systems.
- Francis, A.G. (1994). Psychological Aspects of MOORE: The Memory Organization and Optimized Retrieval Engine White paper.
Agents and Flexible Problem Solving
Anthony's research on agents and reasoning has led to the development of MPA, a multi-plan merging system for a least-commitment partial order planning system. MPA is a component of the larger Nicole Project, a flexible agent architecture which integrates reasoning components like MPA with a flexible meta-level controller and an opportunistic reminding system (MOORE).
- Francis, A.G. (1995). Memory-Based Opportunistic Reasoning. Ph.D. Thesis Proposal. Also available in HTML format.
- Francis, A.G. & Ram, A. (1995). An Algorithm for Multi-Plan Adaptation and Merging for Least-Commitment Planners In AKR-95: AAAI Fall Symposium on Adaptation of Knowledge for Reuse..
Animal Cognition
Along with Kurt Eiselt, Anthony Francis is involved in the 1994 Cognitive Science Conference Symposium on Animal Cognition. The Symposium will address issues in animal reasoning, animal communication, the possibility of animal language, and comparative animal-human studies. Speakers at the Symposium will also present recent work in the field of animal cognition. Featured speakers at the 1994 Symposium included Duane Rumbaugh, David Washburn, and Mike Tomasello.

On To...

Direct academic correspondence to:

Anthony G. Francis, Jr.

AI / Cognitive-Science Group

College of Computing

Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0280

centaur@cc.gatech.edu

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