Dr. Sikka has a distinguished background in the field of Artificial Intelligence. His Ph.D. was in AI from Stanford University. Prof. John McCarthy, known as the father of AI, was the head of his qualifying committee. Dr. Sikka’s thesis on integrating “specialist” AI techniques into general purpose reasoning, addressed a foundational problem in AI that is still a weakness of AI techniques. In addition to his Ph.D. from Stanford, he has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Queensland in Australia. He is an adjunct professor of Computer Science at East China Normal University, Shanghai, the largest teaching university in China, and an adjunct professor of Computer Science at Stanford. Dr. Sikka has also served as the co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s council on AI.Dr. Sikka is a champion of technology as an amplifier of human potential and his passion for applying software in purposeful ways to address some of the biggest global challenges. He, along with his wife Vandana Sikka, sponsor and support various initiatives to promote access to computer science learning and education for women, minorities and other under-represented communities. In his spare time, Dr. Sikka likes to read, write, cook and also surf along the pacific ocean’s shores in California and Hawaii.
