An interview with John H. Holland

John Holland began his academic career as a graduate student at the University of Michigan studying with Arthur Burks, a designer of early programmable computers and colleague of John von Neumann. Under Burks' supervision, in 1959 Holland received what may have been the first Ph.D. in the world in the emerging field of computer science. He was subsequently hired as one of the first professors in the new department of Computer and Communication Science at the University of Michigan. As the inventor of genetic algorithms, John established himself as one of the early pioneers in understanding the foundations of adaptation, learning, and modeling in both natural and artificial systems. His extensions of the genetic algorithm, first to a cognitive architecture called classifier systems and later to an ecological architecture known as Echo, have increased the reach of his ideas well beyond computer science. John Holland's imaginative, interdisciplinary approach to thinking about adaptation, emergence and complexity has made him one of the world's acknowledged leaders in the field of complex adaptive systems. In addition to his many intellectual achievements, John Holland has also been a valued mentor and friend for those of us who have had the privilege to be his students. Holland is currently a Professor of Psychology and Professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science at the University of Michigan. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees and an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. Holland was made a MacArthur Fellow in 1992 and is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum.