Rick Hull

Richard (Rick) Hull, Bell Labs Fellow, ACM Fellow, is a computer science researcher, practitioner and educator with extensive experience at industrial research labs (IBM Research, Bell Labs) and research universities (primarily the University of Southern California). His industrial work has encompassed applications of AI in various areas including Business Process Management and Supply Chain management, the development of personalization technologies in telecommunications, and providing the advanced prototypes and foundations for products in the areas of modern Case Management, high-speed rules engines, and data integration. Hull was named Bell Labs Fellow in 2005, and named ACM Fellow in 2007, with a citation for "contributions to data semantics and web services". He received a Corporate Award from IBM in 2015 for his contributions in the area of Case Management, and also an “Outstanding Accomplishment” from IBM Research for “Fundamental Contributions to Science or Technology” in the area of data-aware processes. He holds 13 US patents.

Hull’s research has spanned from database theory and practice, to database programming languages, to web and telecommunications services, to data-aware business processes, to applying AI in several areas. Hull has published over 150 refereed academic papers, and co-authored the book “Foundations of Databases” (1996). His academic research has been supported in part by grants from NSF, DARPA, AT&T, and the European Union. He is currently developing cyberinfrastructure in support of agriculture and food systems, including projects on cybersecurity, streamlining certification processes, and tracking dietary nutrition.

He has been teaching Computer Science courses at UC Davis since 2023.