The deadline for volunteer applications is April 15, 2004. The Nineteenth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence will be held July 25-29, 2004 at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California. The Sixteenth Conference on Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence (IAAI-04) will be collocated with AAAI-04. Other programs include the Intelligent Systems Demos, the Mobile Robot Competition, the Tutorial Forum, the Workshop Program, the Student Abstract and Poster Program, and the AAAI/SIGART Doctoral Consortium. AAAI-04 and IAAI-04 Calls for Technical Papers, Workshop Proposals, Tutorial Forum Proposals, Student Programs, Intelligent Systems Demonstrations, and other related programs have been mailed to all AAAI members.

AAAI is delighted to announce the continuation of its cooperative effort with AI Journal, giving unlimited access to the online version of the Artificial Intelligence Journal to all regular AAAI members. AAAI regular members can view and browse tables of contents, view articles published in recent issues of AI Journal, and utilize the current features available through Elsevier's electronic journal service. They may also view, print, and/or download excerpts of reasonable quantity, provided that the use of such excerpts is personal and does not amount to, or result in, commercial distribution. Participation in this experimental program is included in your normal AAAI membership dues. If you are a current regular member and have not received your reader key and instructions for accessing the online AI Journal, please contact membership03@aaai.org for more information.

The 2003 Fellows Selection Committee is currently accepting nominations for AAAI Fellow. The AAAI Fellows program is designed to recognize people who have made significant, sustained contributions to the field of artificial intelligence over at least a ten-year period. All regular members in good standing are encouraged to consider nominating a candidate. Two references must accompany nominations. The nominator or one of the references must be a AAAI Fellow who is a current member of AAAI.

Bruce Buchanan, AAAI Past President and Awards Committee Chair, presented the AAAI Awards recently at AAAI-02 in Edmonton, Canada. Each award winner received a certificate and a check for $2,500. The 2002 AAAI Classic Paper Award was given to the author of the most influential paper from the Third National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, held in 1983 in Washington, DC. The Awards Committee selected John Canny of the University of California, Berkeley, to receive this award for his paper, "A Variational Approach to Edge Detection." Canny was honored for his creation of the widely used Canny Edge Detector, and his seminal contributions in the areas of John Canny robotics and machine perception.

The AAAI Press - Distributed by The MIT Press Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 5 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142 To order, call toll free: (800) 356-0343 or (617) 625-8569. AAAI is delighted to announce the continuation of its cooperative effort with AI Journal, giving unlimited access to the online version of the Artificial Intelligence Journal to all regular AAAI members. AAAI regular members can view and browse tables of contents, view articles published in recent issues of AI Journal, and use the current features available through Elsevier's electronic journal service. They may also view, print and/or download excerpts of reasonable quantity, provided that the use of such excerpts is personal and does not amount to or result in commercial distribution. Participation in this experimental program is included in your normal AAAI membership dues.

The Seventeenth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI-01) was held in Seattle, Washington, from 6 to 10 August 2001. It was a stimulating blend of invited speakers, special events, 29 workshops, 20 tutorials, 3 robot competitions, 4 days of technical paper presentations, innovative applications, awards, and more. For the 1,509 attendees of the technical conference, and the additional 1,171 who came to see the exhibits, it was a time for catching up with old colleagues and meeting new. Besides tackling the heady research and engineering agenda that is AI, attendees still know how to have fun. The opening reception was held at the Boeing Museum of Flight, and the conference banquet took place at beautiful Blake Island's Tillicum Village and included a hearty salmon feast.

AAAI is pleased to announce the continuation of its three special awards in 2002, and is currently seeking nominations for the 2002 AAAI Classic Paper Award, the AAAI Distinguished Service Award, and the AAAI Effective Expository Writing Award. The 2002 AAAI Classic Paper Award will be given to the author of the most influential paper(s) from the Third National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, held in 1983 in Washington, DC. The 2002 AAAI Distinguished Service Award will recognize one individual for extraordinary service to the AI community. Finally, the AAAI Effective Expository Writing Award will honor the author(s) of a high quality, effective piece of writing, accessible to the general public or to a broad AI audience (not just a subarea), written within the last two years. The contribution should be based on sound science, interesting ideas or systematic review, with nontrivial content, but the award is primarily for the exposition.

AAAI is delighted to announce the launch of a fantastic new benefit for its regular members. In cooperation with Elsevier Science Publishers, AAAI is offering its regular members an opportunity to enjoy unlimited access to the online version of the AI Journal. AAAI regular members can view and browse tables of contents, view articles published in recent issues of AI Journal, and use the current features available through Elsevier's electronic journal service. They can also view, print, and/or download excerpts of reasonable quantity, provided that the use of such excerpts is personal and does not amount to or result in commercial distribution. Participation in this experimental program is included in your normal AAAI membership dues.

AAAI is pleased to announce the continued expansion of its awards program in 2000. The first AAAI Effective Expository Writing Award will be presented at the National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, to be held July 31-August 3 in Austin, Texas. This award joins the two special awards established last year, the AAAI Classic Paper Award and the AAAI Distinguished Service Award. The AAAI Effective Expository Writing Award honors the author(s) of a high-quality, effective piece of writing, accessible to the general public or to a broad AI audience (not just a subarea), written within the last two years. The contribution should be based on sound science, interesting ideas, or systematic review, with nontrivial content, but the award is primarily for the exposition--the author need not be the one who has done the research.

AAAI President David L. Waltz presented the two new AAAI awards recently at AAAI-99 in Orlando, Florida. Each award winner received a certificate and a check for $2500. The AAAI Distinguished Service Award recognizes one individual each year for extraordinary service to the AI community. The AAAI Awards Committee is pleased to announce that the first recipient of this award was Barbara J. Grosz, Gordon McKay professor of computer science at Harvard University and a past president of AAAI. Grosz was honored for her contributions to the field of AI through sustained service in a multitude of academic, professional society, and government leadership roles at the local, national, and international levels, through which she has had a major effect on the field and on those working in it.