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@make(letterhead,Phone"497-4430", Who"John McCarthy",Logo,old,department csd)
@style(indent 8)
@begin(address)
Professor Gene Golub, Chairman
Department of Computer Science
Stanford University
Stanford, California  94305
@end(address)
@greeting(Dear Gene:)
@begin(body)
	This is to recommend Dick Gabriel for consideration for
a systems faculty appointment.

	First general considerations.  Dick's systems work has been
almost entirely in the area of Lisp, so it is necessary to make the
case that such a person should be considered for the appointment.

	Lisp hardware and software research has developed into a major
systems area pioneering many developments that have eventual applications
to other areas.

	1. Because Lisp programs have direct access to the syntax of
Lisp, many interactions between compiling and interpretation have
been developed in Lisp that are not feasible in Algol-like languages
such as Pascal.

	2. The Lisp area is currently the most active domain in
developing advanced personal computers.

	These considerations indicate that Lisp is a legitimate
area of systems specification.

	Dick Gabriel is currently involved in the following activities:

	1. He initiated and is managing the main ARPA sponsored
activity in Lisp performance measurement.

	2. He initiated and developed with the aid of Martin Frost
a major improvement in interactive computing for time-sharing
systems.  This is the facility for operating Lisp and other programs
out of the E editor.  Up to now such facilities have been available
only on the Lisp machine.

	3. He is one of the major developers of Lisp for the S-1
computer and is a major participant in the definition of Common
Lisp.

	4. He is engaged presently in implementing an Advice Taker
(with Lew Creary).  This is AI rather than systems work.

	His thesis, "An Organization for Programs in Fluid Domains",
concerns how to combine information from "experts" on parts of a
domain.  It is, therefore, a contribution to both artificial intelligence
and systems programming.

	Connections between these areas have been fewer at Stanford
than at M.I.T. and CMU, and I think that adding Dick Gabriel to our
faculty will strengthen them.
@end(body)
Sincerely,




John McCarthy
Professor of Computer Science