GSW computer science professor awarded second patent for decision-making system

AMERICUS, GA (March 21, 2024) – Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) Professor of Computer Science Alexander Yemelyanov, Ph.D., D.Sc. recently received a patent award for “Express Decision: Decision-Making Augmentation System" (US Patent. No. 11,794, 771, US PTO). This is his second U.S. patent awarded within the past year.

“I am honored and grateful to receive this second patent,” said Yemelyanov. “The previous patent was awarded for the method, while this one is awarded for the entire system encompassing it.”

When the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted this patent, it marked the first implementation of a motivational decision-making model in the U.S.

This augmentation system was specifically created to assist individuals in navigating challenging decisions within the context of risk and uncertainty, where it is quite common to rely on intuition. Express Decision users can leverage their self-efficacy to arrive at satisfying solutions to complex problems, upon recognizing the limitations inherent in human rationality when faced with difficult decisions. These limitations can stem from various sources, including time constraints, emotional factors and biases, information availability and cognitive constraints.

Express Decision demonstrates great potential for application in both everyday and professional decision-making scenarios. As a systematic method, it currently features several web applications that span the fields of healthcare and insurance. The innovative approach of integrating a motivational model into decision-making systems highlights a noteworthy paradigm shift in addressing complex decision challenges.

“The current system is undergoing continuous programming”, said Yemelyanov. “However, transforming the patented framework into a practical, real-world application is a fairly long and challenging process. I am eager to continue developing it into a more user-friendly format.”