The 1994 Workshop on Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) focused on the evaluation of CBR theories, models, systems, and system components. The CBR community addressed the evaluation of theories and implemented systems, with the consensus that a balance between novel innovations and evaluations could maximize progress.

The goal of the Workshop on Adaptation and Learning in Multiagent Systems was to focus on research that addresses unique requirements for agents learning and adapting to work in the presence of other agents. Recognizing the applicability and limitations of current machine-learning research as applied to multiagent problems and developing new learning and adaptation mechanisms particularly targeted to this class of problems were the primary research issues that we wanted the authors to address. This article outlines the presentations that were made at the workshop and the success of the workshop in meeting the established goals. Issues that need to be better understood are also presented.

LOLA won the Office Cleanup event at the 1995 Robot Competition and Exhibition, held as part of the Fourteenth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence. The event called for a robot to pick up trash in an unstructured environment and sort it such that the recyclable trash winded up in the recycle bin and the regular trash in the trash bin. The only allowable information lola was given beforehand were model-based descriptions of the trash and recyclables, which it located using color vision. Much of LOLA's success can be attributed to the simple, fast algorithms and methods that also model sensor uncertainty. The ideas and design philosophy that went into LOLA borrow heavily from those of previous competitors' to which we are greatly indebted. These methods and ideas are discussed here.

The goal of this workshop was which was held in June 1995 in San istributed artificial intelligence the cooperative solution of "making connections," trying to better Francisco. The DAI Workshop problems in multiagent intelligent understand the connections received financial support from the systems with both computational between DAI and related fields (for American Association for Artificial and human agents. The central problem example, computer-supported cooperative Intelligence as well as the Boeing in DAI is how to achieve coordinated work, group decision support Company. Registration materials for the Thirteenth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-96), the Eighth Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence Conference (IAAI-96), and the Second International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD-96) are now available from the AAAI office at ncai@aaai.org Copies of the AAAI-96 registration brochure are being mailed to all AAAI members.

In 1992, the seemingly unbeatable World Checker Champion Marion Tinsley defended his title against the computer program CHINOOK. After an intense, tightly contested match, Tinsley fought back from behind to win the match by scoring four wins to CHINOOK's two, with 33 draws. This match was the first time in history that a human world champion defended his title against a computer. This article reports on the progress of the checkers (8 3 8 draughts) program CHINOOK since 1992. Two years of research and development on the program culminated in a rematch with Tinsley in August 1994. In this match, after six games (all draws), Tinsley withdrew from the match and relinquished the world championship title to CHINOOK,citing health concerns. CHINOOK has since defended its title in two subsequent matches. It is the first time in history that a computer has won a human-world championship.

The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) held its 1995 Fall Symposia Series on 10 to 12 November in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This article contains summaries of the eight symposia that were conducted: (1) Active Learning; (2) Adaptation of Knowledge for Reuse; (3) AI Applications in Knowledge Navigation and Retrieval; (4) Computational Models for Integrating Language and Vision; (5) Embodied Language and Action Symposium; (6) Formalizing Context; (7) Genetic Programming; and (8) Rational Agency: Concepts, Theories, Models, and Applications.

LOLA's entry in the Office Delivery event of the 1995 Robot Competition and Exhibition, held in conjunction with the Fourteenth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, was the culmination of a three-month design and implementation period for an indoor navigation system for topological maps. This article describes the major components of the robot's navigation architecture. It also summarizes the experiences and lessons learned from the competition.

The goal of the Fourth International Conference on User Modeling (UM94) was to bring together user-modeling researchers from different parts of the field to discuss and learn about each other's research, contrast approaches, and develop a basis for future research and collaboration. A broad international audience of more than 110 people attended the conference, which featured system demonstrations, paper and poster sessions, three tutorials, and a set of special interest group meetings.

The management information directly to Motor (Dearborn, MI) has opened a systein introduces a new type of data clients to help them minimize risk facility for developing tools and applications structure that encodes the combined and prevent lost sales. Ford's new lab will established in the conventional GDE Systems (San Diego, CA) and develop tools for a variety of engineering indexing system. Development and Engineering Center including vehicle-packaging Xerox (Stamford, CT), a photocopier (ARDEC) (Picatinny, NJ) are using virtual studies, design verification, and a manufacturer, reengineered and validated reality to meet the U.S. Department "walk-up" virtual reality station for its nonproduction-related purchasing of Defense's mandate for efficient designers to evaluate future generations procedure using an of Ford vehicles. The expert system and cost-effective weapons helped Xerox identify a number of system design. The first taking into consideration the workpiece's World Builder (Rochester, NY), a system is an adaptive life simulator shape, the task constraints, company focused on environmental, that exhibits the cardiovascular and the fixture kit.

(Bledsoe 1976). We didn't know we were being We spent a lot of time reading by ourselves, because most of the time the other grades were having their classes. But we DID learn, and had some pretty died on 4 October 1995 of ALS, good teachers (Bledsoe 1976). Woody was one of the and recalls spending "hours just roaming founders of AI, making early contributions in around, sometimes working mathematics pattern recognition and automated reasoning. He continued to make significant contributions When Woody was 12, his father died. It was to AI throughout his long career. His a devastating blow both emotionally and legacy consists not only of his scientific work financially. As Woody recalled, "We were poor but also of several generations of scientists before, but after papa died in January 1934, who learned from Woody the joy of scientific things got worse" (Bledsoe 1976). He and the research and the way to go about it. Woody's rest of his brothers and sisters worked dreary enthusiasm, his perpetual sense of optimism, 10-hour days to make ends meet. He to humanity offered those who knew him the found work in north Texas driving a tractor all hope and comfort that truly good and great night. After a month, he hopped a freight men do exist. He graduated little farm near Maysville, Oklahoma. He moved to Oklahoma to try his took a job as a dishwasher, working 12-hour luck at farming. Woody was the fourth child days 7 days a week. In for his heroic activities in arranging the April, the restaurant owner forced him back transportation of troops across the Rhine into working 12-hour days, which was too in March, 1945. He left the Rhine bridges except the one at Remagen university without saying goodbye and had been destroyed by the retreating German joined the United States Army. Patton's Third Army decided to cross the Rhine by boats near Frankfurt rather than suffer the delay of waiting for bridge construction. Therefore the went to Officer's Candidate School (OCS) Army Corps of Engineers hauled naval By the time he in 1942, he had been promoted to second landing craft (designed for beach landings) lieutenant. While at OCS, Woody had an by truck across Europe to ferry experience that had a profound effect on him: troops across the Rhine. Bledsoe, by then an Army captain, recalls that there was Another experience at OCS at Fort only light enemy fire during the crossing; Belvoir left a lasting impression on me. His first "research" was experimenting army truck. The simple idea opened the flap and said, "Get out here. of backing the trucks into the water, Let's do the map reading." He would later father a to get on with the work, to finish the son, Greg, born in March 1947. It taught me that "if we have to had two more children, Pam and Lance.