Robert E. Mercer
Robert E. Mercer
Ph.D. The University of British Columbia, 1987
Associate Professor, UWO
Knowledge Representation, Logics for Reasoning, Natural Language Understanding
In cognitive science and machine intelligence,
it is sometimes useful to bring the techniques of one discipline to
bear on another. In the study of natural language systems, for
example, computer models and data structures have supported
knowledge representation in terms of syntax, semantics and prag-
matics. The cross-fertilising effect of paradigms is a favourite theme
of Mercer's. A special project in this area treats the thorny problem
of generating the assumptions behind a speech act as a problem in
knowledge representation. Default logic, originally developed to
formalise various aspects of common sense reasoning, plays a role
here. It might even lead to question-answering systems that work.
The University of Western Ontario
Computer Science Department
Cognitive Engineering Laboratory
London,
Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
(519) 661 2111 x86893 voice
(519) 661 3515 fax
Email: mercer@csd.uwo.ca