Thomas W. Yale, a resident of Springfield, Illinois, graduated in 2012 with an Associate's degree in computer science from Carrington College Online. After having learned Esperanto in 1989, he developed an intense interest in linguistics and an appreciation of the nature of language. Since 1992, this ha inspired an exhaustive, decades-long study of natural language processing. His initial attempts at actual development led to a demonstration of an early version of Discovery at the 3rd International Workshop on Human-Computer Conversation in Bellagio, Italy in July 2000.
Only in recent years had he devised solutions to open problems that had prevented further development. He has now resumed programming and design, seeking to establish a career in implementing practical applications using Discovery's core technology.