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Doug Downey

Natural Language Processing (NLP) Automatic Knowledge Base Construction Web Search Enhancement Learning From Unstructured Text Active And Semi-Supervised Learning
Northwestern University. Computer Science

About

Downey's research is focused on natural language processing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, with a particular interest in the automatic construction of useful knowledge bases from Web text. One goal is to develop techniques and prototypes that extend the state of the art in Web search. Another goal is to theoretically investigate and establish a formal basis for techniques that can learn from unstructured text alone, without hand-labeled data. More generally, Downey works on ways to utilize human input more effectively in machine learning. Two directions in this effort involve selecting human input carefully (active learning) or utilizing it in concert with unlabeled data (semi-supervised learning).

Research Performance Summary

122
Total Papers
15020
Total Citations
42
H-Index
2000-2026
Active Research Span

First Recorded Paper

Further experiments in the evolution of minimally cognitive behavior: From perceiving affordances to selective attention

Year: 2000

Citations: 169

Venue: From animals to animats 6

Latest Recorded Paper

Generating Literature-Driven Scientific Theories at Scale

Year: 2026

Citations: 0

Venue: arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.16282

Last 10 Years Publication Activity

This timeline shows the professor's yearly publication activity.

2026
3
2025
8
2024
6
2023
14
2022
15
2021
7
2020
10
2019
5
2018
7
2017
4
2016
2

Publication Venues and Collaboration

Journal, Conference, and Book Publication Breakdown

Conference 47
Journal 8
Book 1

Top Coauthors

Downey Weld

Research Impact by Period

2025-2026

Period Stats
Papers 11
Citations 139
Avg. Citations / Paper 12.6
H-Index 5

2020-2024

Period Stats
Papers 52
Citations 7153
Avg. Citations / Paper 137.6
H-Index 29

2015-2019

Period Stats
Papers 21
Citations 1444
Avg. Citations / Paper 68.8
H-Index 12

2010-2014

Period Stats
Papers 21
Citations 1667
Avg. Citations / Paper 79.4
H-Index 12

2005-2009

Period Stats
Papers 11
Citations 2955
Avg. Citations / Paper 268.6
H-Index 10

2000-2004

Period Stats
Papers 6
Citations 1662
Avg. Citations / Paper 277
H-Index 4

Contact and Professional Links

Contact Information

d-downey@northwestern.edu
8474913710

Detected Research Keywords

Neural Language Models Extraction Web Experimental Probabilistic Model Redundancy Information Extraction Web Evolution Minimally Cognitive Minimally Cognitive Behavior Learning Text Patterns Text Patterns Web Patterns Web Information Web Information Extraction