Dr. Kenneth Ford
Director
Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition

Kenneth Ford is Founder and Director of the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC), a statewide not-for-profit research institute of the State University System of Florida.

IHMC has quickly grown into one of the nation's premier research organizations with world-class scientists and engineers investigating a broad range of topics related to building technological systems aimed at amplifying and extending human cognitive and perceptual capacities. IHMC staff collaborates extensively with industry and government labs to develop science and technology that can be enabling with respect to society's broader goals. IHMC research partners have included: DARPA, NASA, NSF, Navy, Army, NIMA, Air Force, Sun Microsystems, IBM, Nokia, Fujitsu, IDEO, Lockheed, Raytheon, and Boeing to name but a few.

Ford is the author of hundreds of scientific papers and five books. Ford's research interests include: artificial intelligence, cognitive science, human-centered computing, and entrepreneurship in government and academia. He received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Tulane University . He is Emeritus Editor-in-Chief of AAAI/MIT Press, involved in the editing of several journals, and is a Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) Associate. Ford has received local and national teaching awards. Dr. Ford is a Fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), a member of the IEEE Computer Society, and a member of the National Association of Scholars.

In January 1997, Dr. Ford was asked by NASA to develop and direct its new Center of Excellence in Information Technology at the Ames Research Center in the heart of Silicon Valley . He served as Associate Center Director and Director of NASA's Center of Excellence in Information Technology. In July 1999, Dr. Ford was awarded the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. That same year, Dr. Ford returned to private life and to the IHMC.

In March 2001, Governor Bush appointed Dr. Ford to the Board of Directors of itFlorida.com. In April of 2001, Governor Bush appointed Dr. Ford to the Board of Supervisors of the Florida Space Authority.

In October of 2002, President George W. Bush nominated Dr. Ford to serve on the National Science Board. His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate in March of 2003.

In 2004, Ford was the recipient of the Pensacola Area Chamber of Commerce Business Leader of the Year Award for the growth of IHMC and for its restructuring as a not-for-profit public research institute. Also, in 2004 Florida Trend Magazine selected Dr. Ford as one of Florida 's 4 most influential citizens working in academia.

In September 2005, Dr. Ford received the Doctor Honoris Causas from the University of Bordeaux . Also in 2005, Dr. Ford was appointed and sworn in as a member of the Air Force Science Advisory Board.