About

Hi I'm Mars! I'm a computer science and machine learning researcher, as well as a generalist tech freelancer and educator. I am currently working towards my PhD in Computer Engineering at the University of Tasmania and CSIRO, where I work to adapt radio telescopes for spacecraft and space debris tracking.

Contact + Links

You can contact me at @TheMartianLife via: Email, Twitter, Mastodon, GitHub, GitLab, or LinkedIn.

You can also find a selection of my talk recordings on YouTube, or assess my suitability for media appearances on Scimex or STEM Women Australia.

Recent Press/Content

Code

My day-to-day work is mostly programming, either for research, clients, or myself. Much of my professional work has been uncredited or is under NDAs, but my experience broadly covers:

I primarily code in C (incl. CUDA, OpenCL), C++, C#, Python, and Swift, and for teaching I often use Java and Prolog. But I love learning new (and old) languages, and in my free time I write LaTeX packages for fun.

So if you have a tool or app you want made—for a radio telescope, for educational purposes, to enable science, for a good cause, or just something interesting—pitch it to me. I'll see what I can do for you.

Publications

So far I have written two books:

I unfortunately had another book cancelled, after its topic project was sunset by Google without warning. And I was also a proud tech reviewer for the fantastic Swift Style, Second Edition by the equally fantastic Erica Sadun, for The Pragmatic Bookshelf.

I have recently begun consulting for news media on space debris and technology topics, including:

For research publications, see ORCiD logo ORCiD 0000-0001-8512-2434

Speaking

I have been a frequent speaker at tech events all over the world, including:

I also semi-regularly feature on the radio as an expert in STEM- and tech-related topics, such as on ABC Hobart's Your Afternoon and Breakfast shows about myriad topics—including the space debris crisis, data privacy and Australia's anti-encryption laws, issues with cryptocurrency and NFTS, gaming being classified as a "disorder", and more—and on 3RRR's Einstein-A-Go-Go for their 20 PhDs in 20 Minutes special.

I happily accept speaking requests. So if you have a cool event coming up that you think I'd suit, tell me about it!

Teaching

I am an intermittent teaching assistant, tutor, and advisor at the University of Tasmania's School of Information, Communication and Technology, as well as an individual tutor through the Riawunna Centre for Aboriginal Education.

In this capacity, I have been responsible for teaching undergraduate Artificial Intelligence (KIT108) and Introduction to Data Science (KIT102), and am currently engaged as a unit design advisor for postgraduate Mobile Dev for Market (KIT614).

When my work schedule permits it, I also offer private tutoring in programming and computer science topics.

Outreach

I am currently serving as an Executive Council Member for the AUC (fka. Apple University Consortium) and act as Conference Organiser for the annual /dev/world Apple developer community conference.

I also previously served as the Student Member Representative and Tasmanian Branch Executive Committee Member for the Australian Computer Society, where I was a founder of the annual Information Overload scholarship fundraiser.

In addition to these, I enjoy regular volunteering at tech and/or educational events—including participation in large-scale STEM outreach programs such as Young Tassie Scientists. So if you need a hand, get in touch!

Recognition

I have received a number of awards, for both myself and projects I have worked on, spanning:

Other

But it's not all work. I have other hobbies and interests too! For example:

Website design inspired by smushing together the styles of Darius Kazemi's Run your own social and Gilles Castel's Lecture notes. Written and drawn by hand.