We are pleased to announce that Professor Nikola K. Kasabov, Emeritus Professor of Knowledge Engineering at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), New Zealand, and Founding Director of the Knowledge Engineering and Discovery Research Institute (KEDRI), has been elected as an Academician of the World Academy of Artificial Consciousness (WAAC), in recognition of his important contributions to computational intelligence, knowledge engineering, neural networks, evolving connectionist systems, evolving fuzzy neural networks, spiking neural networks, NeuCube, brain-inspired artificial intelligence, neuroinformatics, bioinformatics, knowledge representation, knowledge discovery, and computational models related to machine consciousness.
Professor Nikola K. Kasabov is an internationally influential scholar in contemporary computational intelligence, knowledge engineering, brain-inspired artificial intelligence, and neural network research. He has long been dedicated to studying how artificial intelligence systems learn, adapt, represent, reason, and discover knowledge in dynamic environments, and has systematically advanced the development of evolving connectionist systems, neuro-fuzzy systems, spiking neural networks, spatiotemporal data modeling, neuroinformatics, brain data analysis, and brain-inspired computing methods. His research has not only deepened our understanding of the relationships among neural networks, fuzzy systems, knowledge engineering, and intelligent learning mechanisms, but has also provided important theoretical and methodological foundations for processing complex spatiotemporal data, brain signals, medical data, multimodal perceptual information, and dynamic knowledge structures. As Founding Director of KEDRI, Professor Kasabov has continuously promoted interdisciplinary research in computational intelligence, knowledge discovery, neuroinformatics, and brain-inspired artificial intelligence, and has proposed and developed NeuCube and other important methods for spatiotemporal brain data modeling and brain-inspired intelligent computing. He is an IEEE Life Fellow, Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and Fellow of the INNS College of Fellows. He has also served in important leadership roles in international academic organizations such as the International Neural Network Society and the Asia-Pacific Neural Network Society, making outstanding contributions to global research in neural networks, computational intelligence, and brain-inspired artificial intelligence.
WAAC believes that the study of artificial consciousness requires not only advances in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, neuroscience, computational models, and philosophical theory, but also in-depth research into how intelligent systems form perception, learning, memory, knowledge representation, adaptive reasoning, and consciousness-like behavioral mechanisms through spatiotemporal processes. Professor Kasabov’s work in evolving connectionist systems, spiking neural networks, NeuCube, brain-inspired artificial intelligence, neuroinformatics, and knowledge engineering provides important theoretical resources and methodological support for spatiotemporal cognitive modeling, brain-inspired intelligence, interpretable neural computation, dynamic knowledge representation, multimodal perceptual learning, computational models of machine consciousness, and the adaptive understanding capabilities of future artificial agents. His research path, spanning neural networks, knowledge engineering, computational intelligence, brain data modeling, neuroinformatics, and brain-inspired artificial intelligence, offers significant inspiration for connecting biologically inspired cognitive mechanisms with the construction of artificial consciousness systems.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to computational intelligence, knowledge engineering, neural networks, evolving connectionist systems, spiking neural networks, NeuCube, brain-inspired artificial intelligence, neuroinformatics, knowledge representation, and computational models related to machine consciousness, the World Academy of Artificial Consciousness has decided to confer upon Professor Nikola K. Kasabov the title of WAAC Academician.
- Global Collaboration and Academic Ecosystem
WAAC Academicians come from world-leading universities, national academy systems, and frontier research institutions, including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the University of California, Columbia University, Princeton University, the University of Chicago, University College London, the University of Padua, the University of Queensland, the University of Exeter, the French Academy of Sciences, the German National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and the Max Planck Institute. The body of Academicians includes multiple Nobel Prize laureates, Turing Award laureates, members of national academies of sciences and engineering, Fellows of the Royal Society, and Fellows of internationally important academic organizations such as IEEE, AAAI, AAAS, and the British Academy. By bringing together leading scholars in natural consciousness research, machine consciousness modeling, brain science mechanisms, cognitive robotics, deep learning, brain-computer interfaces, and AI governance, WAAC has built an artificial consciousness research ecosystem that combines scientific depth, technological frontier orientation, philosophical insight, and global collaborative capacity, demonstrating its academic foundation and international influence in the emerging field of artificial consciousness science.
- About WAAC
The World Academy for Artificial Consciousness (https://www.waac.ac/) is a global academic institution established in Paris in 2025. Its mission is to advance frontier research and international collaboration in artificial consciousness through the integration of science, technology, and philosophy. The Academy publishes open research, policy recommendations, evaluation standards, and more. The current President is Academician Yucong Duan, and the Secretary-General is Dr. Yingbo Li. The Honorary Academician List: On May 3, 2025, WAAC released its first batch of Top 100 Honorary Academicians, recognizing scholars who have made foundational or leading contributions to the theory of artificial consciousness.