Professor of Philosophy and Computer Science Henry E. Kyburg Dies

Henry E. Kyburg Jr., a renowned and respected professor of philosophy and computer science at the University of Rochester, died of acute pancreatitis Oct. 30 at the age of 79 at Strong Memorial Hospital. He was well-known for his cutting-edge studies of uncertain inference, which is the human process of reaching conclusions, and data mining, the process by which computers search for information in data or draw conclusions from it. Kyburg, Burbank Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, was honored in 2007 with the University Award for Lifetime Achievement in Graduate Education. He was clearly admired by his students--who can be found working as pioneers themselves across all disciplines at research and educational institutions--for his insightful instruction, generous spirit, and relentless energy. "The last thing he said to me was'I would like a logic problem to work on,' because Henry was always scribbling, loved his work, and in general never stayed idle," said his wife Sarah Kyburg, who lived with her husband and eight children on their sustainable farm in Lyons, N.Y.