I am a research-intensive academic in STEM (Infomation Technology), as an ARC DECRA Fellow, and Senior Lecturer & Enterprise Fellow in AI.
UniSA is a top young university globally recognised as strong research impact and industry engagement, located at Adelaide - to be a New Adelaide University from 2026.
I am leading Human-Agent Interaction and Learning (HAIL) research area, and my research innovations build the bridge between human cognition and AI agents and their applications to support decision-making, including brain-computer interface, deep reinforcement learning, human-in-the-loop reasoning, multi-agent systems, and relevant applications (e.g., clinical/healthcare, ground transportation and space).
I accept PhD applicants for 2025 enrollment. I do industry consulting and collaboration projects. Please feel free to contact me if you need any further information.
[11/2024] ARC Discovery Project 2025 was successful Announcement!
[05/2024] A graph learning for EEG emotion brain network was accepted by IEEE TNNLS.
[04/2024] A scalable efficient multi-agent reinforcement learning was accepted by IEEE TNNLS.
[03/2024] A reinforcement learning method for traffic oscillations was accepted by IEEE TITS.
[01/2024] A multisource information fusion method was accepted by IEEE TFS.
[12/2023] A human heuristic knowledge for reinforcement learning was accepted by AAMAS2024.
[12/2023] A belief rényi divergence method for pattern classification was accepted by IEEE TKDE.
[09/2023] I was invited to join Neural Networks as an Action Editor from 2024.
[08/2023] A fractal belief divergence method for effective pattern classification was accepted by IEEE TPAMI.
[10/2020] A mountain driving environment demo work for autonomous vehicles was accepted by AAAI 2021. (video)
[08/2020] A brain evoked potential-guided representation study for visual classification was accepted by ICONIP 2020.
[06/2020] A fuzzy conflict measurement in decision making paper was accepted by IEEE TFS.
[05/2020] A reinforcement learning-based speed limit control in transportation work was accepted by IEEE TITS.
[03/2020] A multi-agent reinforcement learning interaction demo work was accepted by AAMAS 2020. (video)(code)
[02/2020] An uncertainty modelling in multi-agent information fusion work was accepted by AAMAS 2020.
[01/2020] A fuzzy interval time series forecasting model work was accepted by IEEE TFS.
[12/2019] Predicting EEG decision-making responses study was accepted by NeuroImage.
[05/2019] The first EEG recording description during a sustained-attention driving task was accepted by Scientific Data.
[02/2019] A visual stimulus inherent fuzzy entropy model for migraine patients was accepted by IEEE TFS. (code)
Call for Papers
[05/2024] Call for Papers: The 1st International Workshop on Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) for Multimedia Understanding, called BCI-MM 2024 , co-located with ACM MM 2024.
[03/2024] Call for Papers: Technical papers on substantial, original, and unpublished research in all aspects of Artificial Intelligence, at PRICAI 2024.
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[02/2023] Special Session: New Trends of Adversarial Machine Learning for Data Fusion and Intelligent System at Information Fusion.
[08/2021] Program Chair: IEEE International Conference on Agents 2021 (IEEE ICA 2021). Welcome submissions.
[01/2021] Leading a Special Issue: Affective Computing and Regulation in Brain Computer Interface at Frontiers in Neuroscience.
[05/2020] Leading a Special Issue: Fuzzy Systems Toward Human-Explainable Artificial Intelligence and Their Applications at IEEE T-FS.
[04/2020] Leading a Special Session: Human-in-the-Loop Interactions in Machine Learning at ICONIP 2020.
[02/2020] Leading a Special Issue: Computational Intelligence and Human-Computer Interactions for Industrial Applications at IEEE T-II.
[12/2019] Leading a Special Session: Human-in-the-Loop Interactions in Fuzzy Reasoning and Machine Learning at IEEE-Fuzzy 2020.
I am always open to recruit self-motivated, outstanding domestic/international PhD students who demonstrated strong background within my research areas.
Interested candidates for PhD opportunities are strongly encouraged to contact me by email.
Please attach your CV with academic transcripts and English test (if applicable), and discuss your research interest and experience (supported by a project/publication record).
The (tuition+stipend) PhD scholarship will be provided through my research grant or university/industry financial support. In addition, self/external funded PhD students with research experience are acceptable.
I am always open to working with UniSA Honour and Master students for short-term research projects, and I usually take up to 2 students each year.
Don't hesitate to get in touch with me by email and specify your research interest.
The programming skill is required by demonstrating familiarity with at least one language (Python, Java, C++ ...).
A vacation research scholarship may be provided to domestic students from all universities to explore a future career in research.
Fundamental knowledge/skills for new research students
How to Quickly Learn Basics of Humans and AI/ML/Multiagent Systems?
Expectations to students:
If you are interested in doing a PhD, please think about it carefully before committing yourself to a PhD -
Should you really do PhD?
In addition to being diligent, honest and willing to learn new knowledge "on your own", you also need to demonstrate a solid background in computer science or related STEM fields and a genuine passion for solving critical emerging research problems.
Your research outcomes shall target top-tier conference/journal publications or real-world impact to industry partners.
From supervisor support:
PhD full scholarship, comprehensive training and career development will be provided for a mutual interest research area in 6 incremental levels: awareness, understanding, replication, elaboration, innovation, and pioneer.
I commit at least 1-2 hours/week individual (1:1) meeting for each student to discuss research progress, particularly in the beginning period of the research journey.
I also strongly support to students for internship, visiting, collaboration, and networking opportunities.
I have co-supervised over 10 students to graduate, and my primarily supervised students are highly sought after by good employers, for both internship and full-time opportunities.
The list of my primarily supervised students/postdoc
Mingjun Fan (PhD) [2024 – present | from University of Melbourne]
Yugu Li (PhD) [2024 – present | from Chinese Academy of Sciences]
Jianglin Qiao (Postdoc) [2023 – present | from Western Sydney University | IIIA-CSIC, Spain]
Bin Chen (PhD) [2021 – present | from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications]
Linfeng Liang (Master) [2021 | from University of NSW | PhD candidate in Macquarie University]
Julia Jie Yun (Master/RA) [2020 – 2021 | from Nankai University | first job at Pitt&Sherry]
Xiaohu Li (Master) [2020 – 2021 | from University of Queensland | first job at Polixir]
Xinping Liu (Honour) [2020 – 2021 | Master degree in University of Washington]
Kai Chiu Wong (Master/RA) [2019 – 2020 | from City University of Hong Kong | first job at MyState Bank]
A full list of my publications can be found from my Google Scholar profile.
My significant research outcomes have been published by top-tier journal/conference venues (CORE A* &
JCR Q1), such as
IEEE TPAMI, TNNLS, TFS, TKDE, TMI, TNSRE, JBHI, AAMAS, AAAI ...
Unsupervised Methods in Analytics: Autumn and Spring, 2022 - Present.
This course introduces the cluster and association analysis techniques and the skills for applying real-world datasets.
Programming Preparation (Python): Autumn and Spring, 2020 - 2021.
This course introduces fundamental Python programming and its role in problem-solving to gain practical skills.
I am the coodinator/lecturer and received "Provost Commendation Letter" in 2020.
This course introduces the design process, user interaction and interface prototype design, evaluation, and iterations.
I am the coodinator/lecturer and received "Provost Commendation Letter" in 2020 and 2021.
Mind-reading AI to Translate Silent Speech into Words, funded by Australian Research Council - Discovery Project, 2025 – 2027.
Warm Starts and Goal-based Heuristics to Improve MARL Performance in Advanced Distributed Defence, funded by DIP Collaborative Research, 2024.
Clinical Trial to Evaluate a Digital Self-management and Mental Health Intervention for Young People with Asthma and Their Families, funded by WCH Foundation, 2023 – 2026.
SpaceCraft Autonomy and Onboard AI for Next Generation Space Systems, funded by SmartSat CRC, 2023 – 2026.
Al-based Optimisation and Communication in Distributed Satellite Systems, funded by Australia-Germany Joint Research Scheme, 2023 – 2024.
A Closed-loop Human–Agent Learning Framework to Enhance Decision Making, funded by Australian Research Council - DECRA Fellowship, 2022 – 2025.
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Operational Immersive Visualisation and Measurement of Dense Point Cloud Data in Forest Inventory, funded by Forest and Wood Products Australia, 2020 – 2022.
A Low Cost, Automated Data Collection and Defect Detection System for Paved Roads, funded by ISW Pty Ltd, 2020 – 2023.
Tasmanian Wool SmartFarm - Utilization of SmartTags in Early Detection of Sheep Re-Production, funded by Australian Wool Innovation Limited, 2020.
Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning in Support of Human-Machine Cooperative Systems, funded by Office of Naval Research Global, 2019 – 2022.
Intelligent Multi-agent Coordination and Learning, funded by Defence Science and Technology Group, 2018.
HealthSense - Technological Human Health Sensors Capable of Monitoring, and Providing Feedback and Intervention to the User, funded by NSW Defence Innovation Network, 2018.