Prof. Sharit Kraus from the Department of Computer Sciences in Bar-Ilan, A.M.T. Prize for 2010 in the field of exact sciences

Prof. Krauss, who won half of the prize, founded the research field of automated systems that carry and give professionally with people, as well as intelligent computerized agents, which are used for a variety of applications, from bridging between cultures, through surprise checks at the Los Angeles airport based on game theory

Prof. Sharit Kraus, Professor of Computer Science at Bar-Ilan University, is the recipient of the AMT Award for 2010. For the field of exact sciences, which was awarded this year to groundbreaking scientists in the field of computer science. Prof. Kraus shares the Emet Award with Prof. David Harel from the Weizmann Institute. The award was given to her for her contribution in the field of imparting intelligence to computerized agents - in particular for the development of algorithms that negotiate with both humans and other computerized agents.
One of the most prominent applications of her research is at Los Angeles International Airport, which is an important target for terrorists. As a result, the establishment of a defense system against terrorism was required to make it difficult for the terrorists. One of the steps in the system is computer software developed in collaboration between researchers from the University of Southern California and Prof. Kraus from the Department of Computer Science and a member of the Leslie and Susan Gonda Brain Research Center in Bar-Ilan.
The system, known as "ARMOR" - an acronym for Assisted Randomized Motoring Over Routes, has been installed and used by security personnel at the airport since November 2007. ARMOR is based on setting up roadblocks randomly to detect if someone has tried to introduce a suspicious car into the airport. The goal is to carry out preventive actions and prevent terrorists from trying to gather information about the vulnerabilities at the airport and the security procedures there. The model used by Prof. Krauss and her colleagues is based on game theory for the purpose of performing the random audit.

Kraus founded the research field of automated systems that carry and give professionally with people. For years she worked almost alone in this important but challenging field. Recently, however, the topic has aroused great interest among organizations such as the American Army, and its work forms the basis of research that these organizations encourage. It introduced the aspect of individualism into the field of multi-agent systems by developing protocols and strategies for individual agents that need to cooperate. Her works in the field of automatic negotiation between computerized agents constitute a breakthrough in the field. Kraus was also the first to develop computational algorithms for creating coalitions between computerized systems.

The model she developed with Harvard Professor Barbara Gross for cooperative activity, SharedPlans has greatly influenced the research and implementation of cooperative systems. The model includes a formal specification for the design of agents that can cooperate and is an infrastructure for investigating basic questions about cooperation.

Kraus also made a significant contribution to the development of intelligent algorithms for breaking routines in environments with limited resources: in the field of robotics, she opened a new field of adversarial patrol. In all the works he also included the human model of the opponent.

Her classic work with Prof. Lehman and with Prof. Menachem Magidor (former president of the Hebrew University) on non-monotonic inferences greatly influenced the research in the field and is an infrastructure for comparing inference systems.
Prof. Kraus points out that in addition to the system that helps security at the Los Angeles airport, she developed, among other things, an agent that carried out negotiations in the US and Lebanon. "We used it to collect data on cultural differences. Another system makes it possible to train people in negotiations, such as in preparation for job interviews. The software allows, for example, to build coaching systems where the person using the system will have the ability to communicate interactively with the computer and achieve the best result.
Kraus was born in Jerusalem in 1960 and grew up in the Neve Shanan neighborhood in Haifa. She studied at an urban high school and in Haifa, and served in the national service in the Bekaa neighborhood in Jerusalem. Kraus completed her three degrees in computer science at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She developed her doctorate in 1989 under the guidance of Prof. Daniel Lehmann. After a two-year post-doctorate stay at the University of Maryland in College Park, she joined the faculty of Bar-Ilan University in 1991.
Prof. Kraus has so far won important international awards in the field of computer science:

• In the field of artificial intelligence, in 1995 Kraus received the prestigious international award "Computers and Thoughts". In 2002, Sarit was selected as a fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI Fellow) and in 2008 as a fellow of the European Association for Artificial Intelligence (ECCAI Fellow.
• In the field of multi-agent systems, she received the two most important awards in 2007: -ACM/SIGART Autonomous Agents Research Award and, together with Barbara Gross, the most influential article award.
• In 2009 she received an award of recognition from the City of Los Angeles for her contribution to the promise of the city and in 2010 she was chosen as Amunah's Woman of the Year.