History of Speech and Language Technology

Joseph S. Perkell received his Ph.D. in Speech Communication from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974, having previously attained a D.M.D. (Doctor of Dental Medicine) degree in 1967 from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. He has been a member of the staff of the MIT Research Laboratory of Electronics (R.L.E.) since 1964, becoming a Senior Research Scientist in RLE and in the MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences in 1989. He is also (since 1997) an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems at Boston University. His research includes studies of the motions involved in the articulation of speech. He is the author of a monograph on the Physiology of Speech Production (1969) and of many articles on the various elements involved in speech articulation.

Additional information on Dr. Perkell can be found at:
http://www.rle.mit.edu/rleonline/People/JosephS.Perkell.html
and at:
http://www.rle.mit.edu/rleonline/People/JosephS.Perkell_cv.html

An interview was conducted with Dr. Perkell at MIT on July 21, 2005, by Dr. Janet Baker. The text of this interview has not yet been transcribed, but a brief excerpt of the recorded interview is available.

Brief excerpt of recorded interview.