Science Saturdays Return

Science Saturday is back in business for 2022. IHMC’s popular STEM outreach program hosted four sessions in the fall of 2021 for grade-schoolers in both Ocala and Pensacola. The free, monthly event featured increased safety measures in response to the pandemic and still brought students a lineup of hands-on projects geared toward sparking the love of science for students in grade 3-6. The educational series is moving forward in 2022, says Ursula Schwuttke, director of educational outreach for IHMC, continuing its longstanding tenure as a community fixture that sees IHMC and community scientists lead half-day sessions that use “fun science”… Read More

UWF and IHMC’s Intelligent Systems and Robotics program celebrate first Ph.D. graduate

Taher Rahgooy, a Ph.D. candidate of the intelligent systems and robotics program launched by the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition and University of West Florida, became the program’s first graduate at UWF’s Fall Commencement in December 2021. Rahgooy was among the initial cohort of five students to join the program when it was established two years ago and was one of two students who transferred to UWF from Tulane University on the heels of Dr. Brent Venable, the program’s founding director. Venable previously held a joint appointment as a professor of computer science at Tulane and research scientist at… Read More

IHMC receives Medallion Award for hiring and recruiting military veterans

The U.S. Department of Labor announced on Wednesday that the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition has received a 2021 HIRE Vets Medallion Award for the research center’s commitment to employing veterans. The Medallion Award is the only federal-level veterans’ employment award that recognizes a company or organization’s commitment to recruiting, hiring, and retaining veterans. IHMC joins 848 other companies and organizations across the country who also were recognized for hiring veterans and providing them with career opportunities that take advantage of the diverse skills they acquired during military service. “I’m a Navy veteran and so many of the… Read More

Senior Research Sports Scientist Joins IHMC

Dr. Mark Williams, the former Chair of the Department of Health and Kinesiology at the University of Utah and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sports Sciences, has joined the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition as a Senior Research Scientist. A native of North Wales, Williams previously held senior leadership positions at Brunel University in London and the University of Sydney in Australia before moving to the United States in 2016. He has published more than 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals in fields ranging from exercise and sports science to experimental psychology to neuroscience. Williams’ research focuses on… Read More

International leader in human performance accepts leadership role at IHMC

IHMCs Director and CEO Dr. Ken Ford announced that Dr. Morley O. Stone, the former senior vice president for research at the Ohio State University is joining the institute as Chief Strategic Partnership Officer. Dr. Stone is recognized as an international leader in human performance and biomimetics with nearly 30 years of experience in research and development. At IHMC, he will assume a leadership role in developing external strategic relationships with federal agencies, research universities and the private sector as well as implementing, coordinating and initiating scientific projects and assisting and mentoring IHMC scientists and research staff. As senior vice… Read More

IHMC’s Bonnie Dorr recognized for her distinguished career

Dr. Bonnie Dorr of The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition has been named a fellow of the Association of Computing Machinery. She is one of 95 fellows ACM is honoring this year for their contributions in computing and information technologies. Dorr is the associate director of IHMC’s Ocala branch and one of the institute’s senior researchers. She is recognized as one of the nation’s leaders in the field of natural-language processing. “This is a great honor for Bonnie,” said IHMC CEO Ken Ford. “She has had such a distinguished career. Her expertise extends from cyber security to social… Read More

IHMC’s James Allen honored as one of nation’s top scientists

IHMC Associate Director and Senior Research Scientist James Allen has been elected to the rank of AAAS Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Each year the association elects members whose efforts to advance science and its applications are considered distinguished and scientifically valid. AAAS specifically cited Allen for his “broad contributions to artificial intelligence and natural-language understanding, including seminal contributions in temporal logic.” In addition to his work at IHMC, which he joined in 2006, Allen also has an appointment as the John H. Dessauer Professor of Computer Science at the University of Rochester in Rochester,… Read More

Distinguished Exercise Scientist Joins IHMC

Dr. Marcas Bamman is an internationally recognized researcher known for his scientific contributions to the biology of human skeletal muscle and medical rehabilitation. He is the founder and former director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for Exercise Medicine. Bamman and the UAB center are recognized as world leaders in the biological mechanisms underlying exercise-induced adaptations and their clinical utility in disease prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. He joins IHMC as a Senior Research Scientist and will become part of a biologically-motivated team that IHMC founder and CEO Ken Ford has been forming for the past several years. Since… Read More

DARPA taps IHMC’s Bonnie Dorr for group to assess agency’s research

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has named Dr. Bonnie Dorr of IHMC to its Information Science and Technology (ISAT) Study Group for a three-year term. Dorr is a leading researcher in the field of natural language processing. She serves as an associate director and senior research scientist at IHMC’s Ocala branch. The ISAT Study Group brings together 30 scientists and engineers from across the country who provide continuing and independent assessments of advanced information science and technology as it relates to the U.S. Department of Defense. DARPA is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible… Read More

IHMC podcast in the running for international award

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences announced this week that STEM-Talk has been nominated for the Webby Awards, an international competition recognizing internet excellence. STEM-Talk, an educational service of the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), received nominations in the science and education podcast categories for the Webby Awards as well as the Webby People’s Voice Awards.  Academy members select winners for the Webby Awards while the People’s Voice Awards are voted on by the public. People have until May 7th to visit vote.webbyawards.com to cast their ballots. As a Webby nominee, STEM-Talk has been singled… Read More

STEM-Talk wins People’s Choice award for second time in three years

For the second time in its three years in existence, IHMC’s podcast STEM-Talk has won first place in the science and medicine category at the 14th Annual People’s Choice Podcast Awards. The international competition features thousands of nominees in more than 20 categories. According to Todd Cochrane, who founded the competition in 2005, People’s Choice recognizes the top podcasts in the world as nominated by listeners. “The awards are truly independent and the shows that are nominated and win have significant bragging rights as being listener favorites,” said Cochrane. STEM-Talk is nearing its 100th episode and also closing in on… Read More

UWF and IHMC announce inaugural cohort for state’s first Ph.D. in Intelligent Systems and Robotics

UWF-IHMC Press Release 20191007.pdf Doctoral program director Brent Venable, center, with Jacques Perry, left, and Duncan Calvert, right This fall, the University of West Florida and the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition welcomed the inaugural cohort of five students to the newly established intelligent systems and robotics doctoral program. The program centers on developing leading-edge software and hardware technology that combines human and machine elements to exploit their respective strengths and mitigate their respective weaknesses. It aligns with the University’s strategic vision for research that impacts Northwest Florida’s economic development and technology enterprise. The first of its kind in… Read More

UWF and IHMC announce inaugural director for Intelligent Systems and Robotics doctoral program

The University of West Florida and the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition announce Dr. Kristen “Brent” Venable as the inaugural director of the Ph.D. in Intelligent Systems and Robotics program. UWF is partnering with IHMC for the program, which begins in Fall 2019. Venable will shape and direct the new program, hire faculty and recruit doctoral students. “The highly-anticipated doctoral program has found a well-suited leader in Dr. Venable,” said UWF President Martha D. Saunders. “Her expertise in artificial intelligence matches well with the program’s vision to develop thought-leaders in these exciting fields.” Venable joins UWF from Tulane… Read More

IHMC and Andrews Research and Education Foundation announce partnership to conduct research projects

Pensacola’s cutting-edge research center The Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC) and the Andrews Research & Education Foundation (AREF), the research arm of the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, have signed an agreement to collaborate on human-performance research. “We’re really fortunate to have two world leaders in human-performance right here in our community,” said Ken Ford, co-founder and CEO of IHMC. “This partnership is going to leverage the work of both organizations for the benefit of sports medicine as well as programs geared toward improving the capabilities and resilience of astronauts, fighter pilots, divers and other elite members… Read More

Ryan Tilley Appointed to the FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance Board of Directors

FloridaWest EDA is pleased to announce that Ryan Tilley of the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition has been appointed to the FloridaWest Board of Directors by the Escambia County Commission. Tilley joins Karen Sindel as one of the two county appointees to serve the community on the economic development alliance board. Ryan is currently the Director of Strategic Program Execution and Innovation at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) and is also a partner in two Pensacola based software engineering companies. Prior to joining IHMC, Ryan was the Chief Operating Officer for VetCV Inc., a… Read More

The most important, innovative company to open in Ocala in the past 20 years.

The February 2019 issue of Ocala Style has named IHMC as the most important, innovative company to open in Ocala in the past 20 years. You can read the article here, https://issuu.com/ocalastyle/docs/0219os_book/32

IHMC CEO named to National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence

Pensacola-based Dr. Kenneth M. Ford, CEO and Co-Founder of the Florida Institute of Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC), has been named to join an elite group of industry leaders on the newly formed National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Created under the National Defense Authorization Act for 2019, the independent federal Commission is expected to review global advances, investments, and strategies in artificial intelligence (AI) and related technology systems, evaluate foreign developments and investments in AI, and recommend steps the United States might take to support its technological edge, while ensuring national security and competitiveness. Among its tasks, the Commission… Read More

IHMC a finalist in Toyota Mobility Challenge

FIVE VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY, INCLUDING ONE FROM IHMC, UNVEILED AT CES Toyota Mobility Foundation, in partnership with Nesta’s Challenge Prize Centre, announces finalists in $4 million global Mobility Unlimited Challenge at CES in Las Vegas Innovators from around the world submitted game-changing technologies to improve the lives of people with lower limb paralysis Finalists include teams from United States, Japan, Italy and United Kingdom, with devices ranging from a hybrid exoskeleton on wheels to a powered wheelchair share scheme IHMC is one of five finalists to receive a $500,000 grant to develop their idea further. The final… Read More

UWF partners with IHMC to develop first intelligent systems and robotics Ph.D. in Florida

The University of West Florida has partnered with the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition located in downtown Pensacola to develop a doctoral program in intelligent systems and robotics. The program will be the first of its kind in Florida and one of only a few in the nation.  “We are very excited about this new doctoral degree program,” said UWF President Martha D. Saunders. “The program brings together the strengths of UWF engineering and computer science programs with the expertise of a world-class research center, IHMC. It’s a game changer.” The new doctoral program aligns with the University’s strategic… Read More

Drone program with City of Pensacola Police Department

Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward and IHMC are pleased to announce an innovative partnership between IHMC and the City of Pensacola Police Department in the development of a comprehensive police drone program. The program will incorporate specialized drones in police operations such as search and rescue, disaster response, fugitive evasion, threat situations and monitoring outdoor events. “This is a wonderful program that is going make Pensacola a safer community,” said Hayward. “And because we have the expertise of IHMC here in our community, we also are going to be in a leadership role in terms of the use of these specialized… Read More