Reddy, Raj

Raj Reddy, in full Dabbala Rajagopal Reddy, (born June 13, 1937, Katur [or Katoor], India), Indian computer scientist and cowinner, with American computer scientist Edward Feigenbaum, of the 1994 A.M. Turing Award, the highest honour in computer science, for their “design and construction of large scale artificial intelligence systems, demonstrating the practical importance and potential commercial impact of artificial intelligence technology.”

Reddy was born in a small village near the town of Srikalahasti in what is now Andhra Pradesh state in southeastern India. He received a bachelor’s degree (1958) from Guindy College of Engineering, Madras (now part of Anna University, Chennai), and a master’s degree (1960) from the University of New South Wales, Sydney. He worked for IBM in Australia (1960–63) before moving to the United States to obtain a master’s degree (1964) and a doctorate (1966), both in computer science, from Stanford University.

After completing his studies at Stanford, Reddy joined the school’s computer science faculty (1966–69). In 1969 he moved on to Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, where he was the founding director (1979–91) of the school’s Robotics Institute, dean (1991–99) of the computer science department, and Mozah Bint Nasser University Professor of Computer Science and Robotics (1984– ).

Reddy was elected to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (president 1987–89), and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was awarded the French Legion of Honour (1984), the IBM Research Ralph Gomory Fellow Award (1991), the Indian Padma Bhushan (2001), the Okawa Foundation Okawa Prize (2004), the Honda Foundation Honda Prize (2005), and the U.S. National Science Board Vannevar Bush Award (2006).