An internationally recognized leader in the applications of artificial intelligence and expert systems was given the D. Wynne Thorne Outstanding Research Award during commencement ceremonies last weekend at Utah State University.
Alan M. Hofmeister, professor of special education and instructional technology at USU, was honored for his work, which combines videodisc and computer technology and applies it to educational and learning problems of children with handicaps.Hofmeister is director of USU's Division of Technology for the Developmental Center for Handicapped Persons.
The Thorne award honors D. Wynne Thorne, former director of the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station and vice president for research at USU.
Early in his career, Hofmeister began addressing the problem of lack of educational opportunities for handicapped children in remote rural areas of the Mountain West.
Much of his research activity during the past 19 years, from instructional programming to audi-tutorial programming, videodisc technology and computer technology, has dealt with that lack of programming.
Two years ago, the director of the Institute for the Transfer of Technology to Education for the National School Board Association pronounced USU's team of Hofmeister and Joe Ferrara the nation's best in application of artificial intelligence in education.