IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization, has announced that Dr. Yolanda Gil and Dr. Craig Knoblock have been named IEEE Fellows in 2021.
With a membership of engineers, scientists and allied professionals, IEEE develops, define, and reviews electronics and computer science standards. Its mission is “to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity.”
Select IEEE members are recognized with the distinction of IEEE Fellow for extraordinary accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. In order to attain this highest grade of membership, a member is nominated by peers and the IEEE Board of Directors approves the nomination. Less than 0.1% of voting members are selected annually for the IEEE member grade elevation.
Gil was recognized “for contributions to geoscience and scientific discovery with intelligent workflow systems.” She is Director of Knowledge Technologies and Associate Division Director at the USC Information Sciences Institute (ISI) and Research Professor in Computer Science and in Spatial Sciences. She is also Associate Director of Interdisciplinary Programs in Informatics. She received her M.S. and Ph. D. degrees in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University, with a focus on artificial intelligence. Gil said, “As an AI researcher, I’m very honored to be a Fellow. IEEE and the IEEE Computer Society in particular have supported the AI and robotics community for many decades.”
Knoblock was recognized “for contributions to semantic data integration techniques.” He is a Research Professor in Computer Science and in Spatial Sciences. In addition to serving as ISI Michael Keston Executive Director, Knoblock currently serves as a vice dean in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University, all in computer science. Knoblock shared, “I’m deeply honored to be selected as an IEEE Fellow and humbled to be in the company of such an accomplished group of researchers.”
IEEE members include computer scientists, software developers, information technology professionals, physicists, medical doctors, and many others in addition to IEEE's electrical and electronics engineering core.