Michael Dunn
Professor Emeritus of Informatics and Computer Science
- Phone
- (812) 856-5418
- Office
- Informatics West, Room 316
- Hours
- By appointment
Other Titles
- Former Dean of Informatics
- Emeritus Oscar R. Ewing Professor of Philosophy
- Founding Member, Cognitive Science Program
Research Interests
Information based logics, algebraic logic, proof theory, non-standard logics (esp. relevance logic), quantum computation and quantum logic, relations between logic and computer science.
Education
- A.B. Oberlin College (1963), Philosophy
- Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh (1966), Philosophy (Logic)
Biography
J. Michael Dunn recently retired. He plans to remain in Bloomington and be connected to the School of Informatics, spending more time on research, travel, and gardening. He was the founding dean of Indiana University’s School of Informatics, as well as professor of informatics, Oscar Ewing Professor of Philosophy and professor of computer science. He was also one of the founding faculty members of the Cognitive Science Program.
Dunn was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and went to high school in Lafayette, Indiana. He graduated with an A.B. in Philosophy from Oberlin College in 1963, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy (Logic) from the University of Pittsburgh in 1966. He taught at Wayne State University and at Yale before coming to IU Bloomington in 1969.
Dunn’s primary research interest is the logic of relevance, as well as other information-based logics. He is the author of four books and over 80 articles. His research has been recognized by awards from Fulbright, NEH, ACLS, and NSF. He has been a visitor at the Australian National University, the University of Melbourne, Oxford University, and various other universities for shorter periods of time. He has been President of the Society for Exact Philosophy, and on the Council of the Association for Symbolic Logic. He has been an editor of The Journal of Symbolic Logic and chief editor of The Journal of Philosophical Logic.
He is listed in “Who’s Who in America,” and was recently listed in the Indiana Business Journal’s “Who’s Who in Technology.” In 2001 he was first finalist, Indiana Information Technology Association CyberStar Award, Outstanding Information Technology Educator, and in 2002 accepted the CyberStar Award for the School of Informatics’ Outstanding Educational Contribution to IT. In 2007 he was made a Sagamore of the Wabash by Governor Mitch Daniels, the highest honor awarded by the Governor of Indiana. He was also awarded the Indiana University-Bloomington Provost's Medal.
Dunn has been involved in faculty governance, having served on both the Bloomington and University Faculty Councils (co-chairing the Budgetary Affairs Committee of each), and serving on the College Policy Committee. He has been Bloomington chair of the Alliance of Distinguished Rank Professors.
Dunn was an early advocate of the role of personal computers on campus. He wrote a computer plan for Philosophy which was approved among the first four such plans for the Bloomington campus. He also created an interdisciplinary major between Philosophy and Computer Science, and served on various campus and university committees relating to computing, starting with the old BCCUC (Bloomington Campus Computer Use Committee). He chaired the University Information Technology Committee, and in this role oversaw the creation of a five year plan for information technology at IU.
Dunn has had much administrative experience, including two terms as chair of the Philosophy Department, and a term as executive associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Dunn has been active in civic service. He has been president and vice president of the Old Northeast Downtown Neighborhood Association (and helped found the association). He has served on the Board of Bloomington Restorations, and as chair of the City of Bloomington’s Council on Neighborhood Improvements. He has also served on the Indiana Chamber of Commerce's Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Task Force, and the CareersINsite Board.
Dunn lives in a historic house near campus with his wife Sally, who worked until recently as the dean of University Division (“the freshman division”). Their hobbies include historic restoration and gardening. They have two grown married children.
