James Hendler, director of the Institute for Data Exploration and Applications (IDEA) and the Tetherless World Professor of Computer, Web and Cognitive Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been honored by the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) with its inaugural AMIA Spotlight Award. He received the award during the organization’s Digital Asset Symposium in New York City on May 5.

The Spotlight Award is given in recognition of significant contributions to the field of media preservation and access at the discretion of the AMIA board. Hendler’s visionary role in creating access to diverse content through semantic technologies and machine learning led the board’s decision to honor his accomplishments.

A highly respected author and expert, Hendler has written over 350 books, technical papers, and articles in the areas of semantic web, artificial intelligence, agent-based computing, and high performance processing. His most recent book is Social Machines: The Coming Collision of Artificial Intelligence, Social Networking, and Humanity.

One of the originators of the Semantic Web, Hendler was the recipient of a 1995 Fulbright Foundation Fellowship, is a former member of the U.S. Air Force Science Advisory Board, and is a fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, the British Computer Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The technologies of the Semantic Web, and particularly the linked data approach that Hendler has advocated in his work with academic, government, and industrial partners, is increasingly being recognized as a way to make it possible for the “metadata” used in archiving of videos to be more widely used and shared. Demonstrations have ranged from better searching in movies and videos for specific scenes and for identifying and linking the characters in video, real or imaginary, to more information about these characters on the Web. In addition, new work at Rensselaer, led by Mei Si, assistant professor of cognitive science, is showing how these technologies can help link many kinds of data together, creating “interactive narratives” so people can dynamically create and explore stories and presentations from archived collections, including Rensselaer’s own library archives.

The Association of Moving Image Archivists is a nonprofit international association dedicated to the preservation and use of moving image media. AMIA supports public and professional education and fosters cooperation and communication among the individuals and organizations concerned with the acquisition, preservation, description, exhibition, and use of moving image materials.

Hendler’s work epitomizes The New Polytechnic, an emerging paradigm for teaching, learning, and research at Rensselaer. The New Polytechnic emphasizes and supports collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and regions to address the great global challenges of our day, using the most advanced tools and technologies, many of which are developed at Rensselaer.

About Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, is America’s first technological research university. For nearly 200 years, Rensselaer has been defining the scientific and technological advances of our world. Rensselaer faculty and alumni represent 85 members of the National Academy of Engineering, 17 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 25 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 8 members of the National Academy of Medicine, 8 members of the National Academy of Inventors, and 5 members of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, as well as 6 National Medal of Technology winners, 5 National Medal of Science winners, and a Nobel Prize winner in Physics. With 7,000 students and nearly 100,000 living alumni, Rensselaer is addressing the global challenges facing the 21st century—to change lives, to advance society, and to change the world. To learn more, go to www.rpi.edu.