COMMENT ⊗   VALID 00002 PAGES
C REC  PAGE   DESCRIPTION
C00001 00001
C00002 00002	\input jmclet
C00005 ENDMK
C⊗;
\input jmclet
\jmclet
\address
Membership office
National Academy of Engineering
2101 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, D.C 20418
\body
Dear Colleagues:

This is to support the nomination of Professor Marvin Minsky of M.I.T.
for membership in the National Academy of Engineering.

Minsky's contributions to the science of artificial intelligence are
well known and have resulted in his membership in the National Academy
of Sciences.  In this memorandum, I want to emphasize the engineering
aspect of his contributions.  These are the result of his leadership
in the M.I.T. Artificial Intelligence Laboratory since its founding
in 1958.  They include

1. The first practical algebraic manipulation systems beginning with
the thesis of James Slagle on computer integration of algebraic and
other elementary function expressions.  This work culminated in the
MACSYMA system that has been widely implemented.

2. The M.I.T. approaches to artificial intelligence.  They have led
to a great variety of programs and demonstrations.  The M.I.T. work
has probably included a closer interaction between usable expert
systems and basic theoretical and experimental research than any
other.  Minsky has encouraged a variety of approaches even when they
don't always agree with his own ideas.

3. Minsky's own frame-based approach to AI has been adopted by many
people --- at M.I.T. and elsewhere.

4. Minsky continues his activity, and his recent book {\it The Society
of Mind} presents a highly individual view of the mind as a collection
of interacting semi-independent elements each with its own goals.  The
society of mind idea is both a concept of how the brain works and
advice on how to construct artificial intelligences.

\closing
Sincerely,
John McCarthy
Professor
\endletter
\end