Frank Pfenning, a professor in Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science, has been selected to receive the 2026 Herbrand Award for Distinguished Contributions to Automated Reasoning.

Established in 1992 by the Conference on Automated Deduction, the Herbrand Award recognizes exceptional contributions to the field of automated deduction. It is named for Jacques Herbrand, one of the founders of proof theory.

A professor in both the Computer Science Department and the Department of Philosophy, Pfenning studies programming languages, logic and type theory, logical frameworks, automated deduction, and computer security. The Herbrand Award honors his "contributions to the foundations of type theory and logical frameworks, and the development of theory, automated tools, and applications for classical and non-classical logics."

Pfenning's research has contributed to several foundational areas in automated reasoning and logic. These areas include early development of the TPS theorem-proving system for higher-order logic, co-development of the Twelf logical and meta-logical framework, and advances in the proof-theoretic foundations of automated deduction and logic programming in substructural and non-classical logics.

The award will be presented in July at the International Joint Conference on Automated Reasoning in Lisbon.

For more information, visit the Herbrand Award website.