• Three Charles Sturt University computing experts have been listed among Australia’s top computer scientists
• This is testimony to their consistent generation of high-quality research on what works in generative artificial intelligence (AI)
• Australia is well positioned for work in specialised AI areas to benefit its citizens, welfare and economy

Three Charles Sturt University researchers were recently named among Australia’s best computer scientists.

They are noted in Australia’s Best Computer Science Scientists as ranked by Research.com in its latest (10^th) edition.

The three Charles Sturt scientists are Dr Guido Governatori and Dr Ibrar Yaqoob in the Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Futures Institute (AICFI) and Professor in Computer Science Manoranjan Paul in the School of Computing, Mathematics and Engineering.

Dr Governatori (pictured left) is Research Fellow in Responsible AI, and Dr Yaqoob is Senior Research Fellow, Smart and Resilient Supply Chains Lead.

Charles Sturt Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Mark Evans said it is fantastic to see three Charles Sturt computer scientists ─ Dr Governatori, Dr Yaqoob, and Professor Paul ─ being recognised in a list of Australia’s best computer scientists.

“This is testimony to their consistent generation of high-quality research on what works in generative AI which is making a difference to improving the lives of rural and regional Australians,” he said.

Dr Governatori holds a PhD in Legal Informatics from the University of Bologna. His expertise focuses on logic, formal methods and artificial intelligence and how to apply them in other disciplines. In particular, for the formalisation of legal and normative reasoning, business process management and business process compliance.

In recent years, Dr Governatori has continued his research in legal informatics with a focus on further validation of the models he has developed and investigating how to apply them for the development of responsible AI systems.

In 2015 he received the Australian Computer Society Gold Award for the Computer Scientist of the Year, and in February this year he joined the AICFI to continue his research as a part of the Responsible AI Program.

Dr Governatori said, “Given the size of the Australian AI and IT market, Australian research organisations cannot compete in the global market for the development of general and large AI models.

“However, Australia is well positioned for work in niche and specialised areas, for example the application of AI in the legal domain, that can bring great benefits to Australian citizens, welfare and economy.”

Dr Yaqoob’s (pictured left) current research focuses on leveraging blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and metaverse for healthcare, supply chain and logistics, wireless networks, internet of things (IoT), and smart cities.

He has conducted research in the areas of mobile edge-cloud computing, IoT, computer networks, and big data. The impact of Dr Yaqoob’s work is outstanding, as he has been recognised as a highly cited researcher by Web of Science three times consecutively, which is significant at his age globally.

“I am happy to receive this recognition, and there is nothing more satisfying than contributing to the University’s vision and excellence,” Dr Yaqoob said.

Since 2001 Professor Paul (pictured left) has conducted research in the video technology and other related fields for different applications such as entertainment, security, driverless cars, digital health, agriculture, etc. by developing innovative AI, information theory, and machine vision technologies.

Professor Paul was named Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Researcher of the Year 2017 by the Australian Computer Society.

“Video makes up more than 80 per cent of all internet traffic in recent years and it is growing day-by-day as video is the best format to convey various content within a short time span,” Professor Paul said.

“I am honoured to receive this national-level recognition and be included among the Best Australian Computer Science Scientists.”