16 Feb What It Means to Succeed
Isbell knows that people are the heart of intelligent systems, both in computers and on a college campus. Photo by Bryce Richter.
By Megan Provost ’20
New Provost Charles Isbell will help UW–Madison define itself in a brave new world.
Charles Isbell knows that good science fiction is less about the futuristic than it is the timeless. Beneath the fantasies lie inherently human stories of power and morality.
Isbell’s career has grappled with the same in its pursuit of technological advancement. As an accomplished computationalist and decorated scholar of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, Isbell is interested in building and sustaining smart systems, whether those systems exist within a computer or across a campus community. He comes to the UW from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he most recently served as the dean of the College of Computing. As the UW’s new provost, Isbell is tasked with leading all 13 of its schools and colleges. The role requires understanding intelligent systems while also remaining cognizant of their human factor.
And how much does he believe in technology? He keeps a lightsaber on his desk for cutting red tape.