It was these break throughs that paved the way for the re-emergence of Neural Net's in the later 80's. The mid 1980's brought much publicity and curiosity to the Neural Network field. Universities began teaching courses and funding was once again restored. The American Department of Defense took an Interest in Developing Neural Networks for Military Purposes and some areas of industry also shared this curiosity. Currently Neural Networks are in a state of Transition.
Funding is still in place and their development is ongoing.
There are many applications that are being explored for commercial, industrial and governmental uses.