Part 2/15:
Miikkulainen's academic journey led him to earn a PhD from UCLA in 1990, specializing in natural language processing, neural networks, and later, evolutionary computation. Over the years, he has contributed substantially to AI research, working on neural networks, optimization techniques, and the development of real-world AI applications. His role in founding and growing AI startups, such as Sentian, underscores his commitment to translating research into impactful technology.