Robert E. Smith Ph.D.

Click here to download my CV in PDF format

Employment History:

July 2005 to Present:

Senior Research Fellow and College Teacher
Computer Science Department
Intelligent Systems Group
University College London

1995 to Present:

Consultant to Government and Industry, President of RESystems Consulting.

·         Active consultant in various projects with the United States Navy, Army, and Air Force, NASA, The National Science Foundation, First Quadrant Financial (Pasadena, CA), Scientific Systems Corporation (Woburn, MA), Boeing, DERA, and others.

June, 1997 to May, 2005:

Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences,

The University of the West of England.

Senior Researcher/Lecturer, Director of The Intelligent Computer Systems Centre

Supervisor: Dr. Stephen Hoddell

Responsibilities:

·       Leading and consulting in ongoing research efforts on complex systems based ariticial intelligence, including evolutionary computation, theory, evolving mobile agents, neural networks, reinforcement learning, knowledge representation, and cooperative computation.

·        Occasional lecturing, in The Machine Learning and Adaptive Computing Master of Science and other programs.

·        Leading a team of approximately 5 research fellows, and 9 post-graduate research students.

·        General management of the Centre, including interface with University administration, and representing the Centre as a part of the University internally and externally.

July to August, 1997:

British Telecom Laboratories, Ipswich, Suffolk, UK

Position: Visiting Research Fellow

Contact: Paul Kearney

Responsibilities:

·        Conducting a research project on the use of evolutionary computation in Java-based mobile agents.

January, 1986 to August, 1998:

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Position: Associate Professor (Awarded tenure August 1997)

Assistant Professor (May, 1991 to August, 1996)

Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant (January, 1986 to May, 1991)

Supervisor: Dr. James L. Hill

Responsibilities:

·        Developed and taught a regularly-offered graduate course on genetic algorithms in optimization and machine learning.

·        Developed and taught a regularly-offered graduate course in neural networks in engineering.

(These courses were cross-listed in engineering and computer science, and were among the few of their kind in U.S. engineering curricula.)

·        Developed and taught these graduate courses for satellite and video tape delivery across the U.S.

·        Conducted research on genetic algorithms in optimization and machine learning, and on the application of neural networks.

·        Taught traditional engineering mechanics courses to undergraduates (statics, fluids, and dynamics).

·        Developed and taught new interdisciplinary undergraduate courses as a part of the National Science Foundation’s Foundation Coalition Program.

·        Administered the University of Alabama Genetic Algorithms Laboratory.

·        Administered The Clearinghouse for Genetic Algorithms, a distribution center currently offering over 43 technical reports that have been delivered throughout the U.S. and to 40 other countries. 

June, 1992 to August, 1992

U. S. Army Strategic Defense Command, Huntsville, Alabama

Position: Research Consultant

Contact: Luis Lopez

Responsibilities:

·        Initiated a research project to use genetics-based learning to dynamically balance parallel computer programs on the BBN TC2000 computer.

May, 1991 to August, 1991 (project continued remotely until May 1993)

The Center for Nonlinear Studies

Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico

Position: Research Collaborator

Contact: Dr. Stephanie Forrest

Responsibilities:

·        Involved in an interdisciplinary research project to use genetic algorithms to model immune system behavior, and analyze the use of these models in genetics-based machine learning.

May, 1986 to August, 1986

May, 1987 to August, 1987

Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Position: Research Consultant

Contact: Dr. Mike Hilliard

Responsibilities:

·        Developed a software environment for studying the learning classifier system.

·        Investigated learning of transferable heuristics with the classifier system applied to the domain of job shop scheduling.

·        Assisted in an investigation of the role of penalty functions in constrained optimization with genetic algorithms.

Education

·        University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

               Engineering Science and Mechanics.

               Doctor of Philosophy awarded May, 1991. 

·        University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

               Engineering Science and Mechanics.

               Master of Science awarded May, 1988.

·        University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

               Mechanical Engineering

               Bachelor of Science awarded September, 1985.

·        Resource Learning Center, Birmingham, Alabama

               School for the Gifted and Talented

               Advance Academic Diploma awarded May, 1981.

Interests

Machine Learning and Adaptive Systems - Development of systems that automatically adapt based on experience. The thrust of this research is to improve understanding of these systems using mathematical models rather than high-level descriptions. The goal is the integration of artificial intelligence technology into automated analysis, control, and design methods. 

Evolutionary Computation in Optimization and Machine Learning - Further development, analysis and application of evolutionary computation methods - algorithms whose mechanics are based on those of natural evolution. This research is directed towards further understanding of these algorithm’s dynamic behavior, their application to complex problems, and their efficiency. The effort requires the integration of discrete and continuous mathematical modeling, dynamic systems analysis, and computer simulation.

Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education - Emphasis on the use of fundamental principles and problem-solving techniques, communication skills, and the use of computer technology. Of particular interest is the integration of advanced computer-assisted mathematics (e.g. matrix-based computational environments and symbolic manipulation) into undergraduate education.   

Public and University Service

Genetic Algorithm Methods Editor for GECCO 99, The 1999 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference. (this conference was the first combination of The International Conference on Genetic Algorithms, and The International Conference on Genetic Programming).

Associate Editor of the journal Evolutionary Computation.

Former Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation.

Frequent reviewer for several other publications, including

·        ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software,

·        Adaptive Behavior,

·        Applied Artificial Intelligence,

·        Artificial Intelligence; An International Journal,

·        Complex Systems,

·        Computers and Mathematics; An International Journal,

·        IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks,

·        IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence,

·        IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics,

·        Kluwer Academic Publishers, 

·        ORSA Journal on Computing,

·        Physica D,

·        Proceedings of the IEEE

Proposal referee for the National Science Foundation Division of Information, Robotics, and Intelligent Systems, the Division of International Programs, and The National Research Council (Twinning Program).

Secretary of the University of Alabama Chapter of Sigma Xi, The National Scientific Research Society, 1996-97

Co-organizer and co-chair of The First International Workshop on Learning Classifier Systems, October 6, 1992 at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas.

Publicity chair for The Fifth International Conference on Genetic Algorithms, July 17, 1993, Champaign, Illinois.

Publicity chair for The Sixth International Conference on Genetic Algorithms, July 17, 1995, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Neural Networks Session Chair at the IEEE Southeastcon '92, Birmingham, Alabama.

College of Engineering Maintenance and Safety Committee Member, 1991-92.

College of Engineering Computer Facilities and Software Committee Member, 1992-1994.

University of Alabama representative at the Sloan Foundation New Liberal Arts Conference (Atlanta, October, 1991).

University-wide Outstanding Master's Thesis Committee, 1991.

Graduate Teaching Orientation Counselor, 1990.

Captain in the Alabama Science Olympiad (an annual science competition for Alabama high school students), 1990-1996.

University of Alabama Burlington-North Faculty Award Committee member, 1989.

Professional Affiliations

·        American Association for Artificial Intelligence

·        Association of Computing Machinery.

·        IEEE Computer Society.

·        International Neural Network Society.

·        International Society for Adaptive Behavior

·        International Society for Genetic Algorithms.

·        Planetary Society.

·        Sigma Xi (National Scientific Research Society) (current chapter secretary).

·        SPIE (Society for Optical Engineering).

·        American Society for Engineering Education.

·        Tau Beta Pi, Alabama Beta Chapter.

·        Washington Evolutionary Systems Society.

Academic Honors

Engineering Mechanics Outstanding Dissertation Award, 1991.

University of Alabama Graduate Teaching Fellow, 1990.

Inducted into Tau Beta Pi (national engineering honorary fraternity), 1990.

Honorable Mention in The Council of Southern Graduate Schools and University Microfilms Outstanding Thesis in the Natural and Mathematical Sciences Competition for 1985-1989.

Outstanding Master's Thesis Awards at the Departmental, College, and University levels, 1988.

General Motors/Rochester Products Division Graduate Fellow, 1986-1987.

NASA Graduate Student Research Fellow, 1987-1990.

Engineering Mechanics Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant, 1987.

Math and Science Competition Scholarship to Birmingham-Southern College, 1981 (refused in favor of attending the University of Alabama).

Send mail to robert.elliott.smith@gmail.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: September 10, 2008