Norman K. Sondheimer

Electronic Enterprise Institute
Computer Science Building
University of Massachusetts
Amherst MA 01003
Phone: (413) 545-5654
Mobile: (860) 539-9335
Fax: (413) 545-1249

Dr. Norman K. Sondheimer is co-Director of the Electronic Enterprise Institute (EEI) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Senior Research Scientist in the University’s Computer Science Department. EEI is dedicated to bringing UMass faculty together with business and government units to devise new approaches to the interdisciplinary challenges posed by electronic enterprises and to investigate fundamental issues that underlie electronic commerce, digital government and the virtual enterprise. Beginning in 2000, he has partnered with Professors Leon Osterweil and Ethan Katsh in a series of efforts to improve the adoption rate of e-government systems. They have seen this as an effort to build trust among the stakeholders in the systems. To encourage this they have been integrating powerful process definition and analysis approaches into participatory computer systems design methods. Most recently they have been studying the adoption of Online Dispute Resolution at the U.S. Government’s National Mediation Board.

Dr. Sondheimer has championed efforts in equipment maintenance for many years. He has supervised the fielding of diagnostic tools for medical imaging, locomotive, jet engine and building systems equipment. He helped lead the effort to create remote monitoring centers that are now in service. Most recently, Sondheimer chaired a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Information Processing Technology Office (DARPA/IPTO) study team on “Self-Aware Platforms and the Collective Mind” which investigated the application of machine learning and reasoning to continuous, automatic improvement in platform reliability and availability.

Dr. Sondheimer has published and presented dozens of papers on a variety of information technology topics worldwide and is a widely invited speaker with many keynote speeches, conference panels and university seminars appearances. In addition to corporate support, his research has largely been supported by DARPA and the National Science Foundation. Sondheimer has consulted for and served on advisory committees for such organizations as the United States Department of Commerce, the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Information Technology Division, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Bell Laboratories.

Proudest Professional Achievements

• Supervising the development and transfer to the market of a dramatic set of technical innovations, including:
• E-commerce Marketplaces
• Controls for Green Household Appliances
• Remote Maintenance Systems for Electro-Mechanical Devices
• Decision Models for Scheduling Television Programs
• Establishing, focusing and growing Research and Professional Organizations including a term as President of the Association for Computational Linguistics.

Education

Ph.D., Computer Sciences, 1975, University of Wisconsin-Madison

M.A., Computer Sciences, 1970, University of Wisconsin-Madison

A.B., Mathematics and English, 1968, Carnegie-Mellon University

Appointments

• Co-Director, Electronic Enterprise Institute, University of Massachusetts Amherst (2001–present)
• Dean’s Executive Professor, Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst (2001-2005)
• Director, B2B Development, InphoMatch, Herndon, VA (2000-2001)
• Director, Information, Computer and Communication Technology, United Technology Research Center, East Hartford, CT (1998-2000)
• Manager, Information Technology Laboratory and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, GE Global Research, Niskayuna, NY (1988-1998)
• Deputy Division Leader, Project Leader, Computer Scientist, Artificial Intelligence Division, University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute, Marina del Rey, CA (1982-1988)
• Senior Computer Scientist, Software Research Department, Sperry Univac, Blue Bell, PA (1978-1982)
• Assistant Professor, Dept. of Computer and Information Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (1975-1978)

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