معرفی
Randy Allen Harris is a Professor cross-appointed between the Department of English and the David Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. His academic journey includes a PhD in Communication and Rhetoric from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1991), an MSc in Technical Communication (Rensselaer), an MSc in Experimental Linguistics (University of Alberta), an MA in English Literature (Dalhousie University), and a BA in English Literature (Queen's University).
His research explores the intersection of rhetoric, cognition, and computation, with focus areas including:
- Cognitive and computational rhetoric examining how rhetorical figures reflect neurocognitive structures
- Construction Grammar and its relationship to rhetorical schemes
- Rhetoric of science and scientific argumentation
- Development of rhetorical ontologies for machine learning applications
- Voice interaction design and conversational interfaces
Harris's publications demonstrate sustained focus on rhetorical theory, computational linguistics, and cognitive approaches to persuasion. His recent work increasingly engages with machine learning applications for rhetorical analysis and the development of rhetorical databases. Earlier foundational work established frameworks for understanding scientific argumentation and the cognitive dimensions of rhetorical figures.
Significant honors include:
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2022)
- University of Waterloo Arts Award for Excellence in Research (2023)
- Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision (2019)
- Multiple SSHRC and NSERC grants supporting computational rhetoric research
He directs the RhetFig computational rhetoric project and has secured substantial funding including:
- NSERC Discovery Horizon grant (2024-2029)
- SSHRC Insight Grants (2018-2027)
- Mitacs Accelerate Grant (2009)
Harris supervises graduate students in rhetoric, professional communication, linguistics, and cognitive poetics, and maintains collaborations with international researchers in computational linguistics and argumentation studies.
