My interest in logic programming (LP) began when I learned Prolog
as an undergraduate student in the early 1980s. Those were the
hey-days of LP with the 5th Generation
Project just launched. I vividly remember the September 1983 issue
of the CACM which put the 5th Generation Project on its cover.
All this inspired me to take up LP for my
dissertation research, and my interest in LP
has not subsided since then. In the past 20+ years of my research
career, I have worked on various aspects of LP,
developed various LP systems, supervised Ph.D. theses
in LP, applied LP to solving various
practical problems, and even co-founded
two companies that are based on LP technology.
I have also dedicated myself to the service of the LP
community: actively serving in program committees of LP conferences,
(co-)chairing LP conferences (1999, 2005, and 2009), serving as an
area-editor of TPLP, serving in the executive committee of the ALP,
serving as conference coordinator for the ALP, organizing summer schools
in LP (1999 and 2004), founding PADL (a successful conference that brings
logic programming and functional programming researchers together,
now in its 12th edition), and most of all, making
efforts to proselytize every one to the benefits of LP.
LP has made great strides since its discovery in the 1970s. Modern logic programming systems pack a lot of power, however, the use of logic programming is not as wide-spread as it should be. Logic programming can have great impact through its use in the semantic web, semantic technologies and other emerging areas, but we, the research community, will have to show the way. As President of the Association, I will continue my dedication to LP and the LP community. I will focus my efforts on: