WASHINGTON - A Harvard professor whose machine learning research helped create an IBM computer that defeated two human champions in a "Jeopardy!" game has won the prestigious A.M. Turing Award.

Leslie Valiant, a computer science and applied mathematics professor, was honored for his "contributions to the development of computational learning theory and to the broader theory of computer science," the Association for Computing Machinery said Wednesday.

The award, named for British mathematician Alan M. Turing and considered the "Nobel Prize in Computing," carries a USD250,000 prize sponsored by computer chip giant Intel and Internet titan Google.

"Leslie Valiant’s accomplishments over the last 30 years have provided the theoretical basis for progress in artificial intelligence and led to extraordinary achievements in machine learning," ACM president Alain Chesnais said.

"His profound vision in computer science, mathematics, and cognitive theory have been combined with other techniques to build modern forms of machine learning and communication, like IBM’s ‘Watson’ computing system, that have enabled computing systems to rival a human’s ability to answer questions."

Intel’s Shekhar Borkar praised Valiant’s research in computation theory for having "revolutionized machine learning and artificial intelligence, making machines almost think."

"Watson," the IBM computer, handily defeated two human champions of the television game show "Jeopardy!" last month in a three-day match in a triumph for artificial intelligence.

"Jeopardy!" first aired on US television in 1964. It tests a player’s knowledge in a range of categories, from geography to politics to history to sports and entertainment.