Over the course of my career, I have worked as a researcher, educator, academic, and engineer. Through positions in Norway, Singapore, and Australia I have had the privilege of seeing and experiencing professional and educational interactions from very different cultural and institutional perspectives. This helps me to contribute better and more wisely in whatever role I find myself in.
Education
PhD Melb, BEng(Elect) QUT, DipTh ACT
Research Interests
Modelling and analysis of systems to understand their dynamics, discover shortcomings, find novel solutions, and improve performance. My experience has mainly been in communication networks (including wired, mobile, and emergency/critical) and networked systems.
Teaching Philosophy
I believe that university degrees should equip students for lifelong learning. This is especially important and challenging in technology fields which rapidly change and develop. Teaching and learning in engineering/technology fields must avoid either:
(i) focusing too much on tasks currently required in industry, or
(ii) focusing too much on the science.
Focus (i) leads to an education that fails to equip students with the tools necessary for lifelong learning in rapidly developing fields. On the other hand focus (ii) leaves students floundering in real world situations, unsure of how to apply the science to the technology and methodologies they are working with. Engineering/technology students need to be well grounded in the science, but this must be accompanied with learning the skills necessary to apply the science to their field’s current technologies and methodologies. This enables lifelong learning in their careers since students are equipped with both the foundational knowledge, as well as the analytical thinking skills needed to understand emerging technologies and apply them in their advancing work places. Models and formal methods can play an important part in this.