Biography

Dirk P. Kroese is a Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at The University of Queensland. He has published over 120 articles and five books in a wide range of areas in mathematics, statistics, data science, machine learning, and Monte Carlo methods. He is a pioneer of the well-known Cross-Entropy method: an adaptive Monte Carlo technique, which is being used around the world to help solve difficult estimation and optimization problems in science, engineering, and finance.

Zdravko Botev is an Australian Mathematical Science Institute Lecturer in Data Science and Machine Learning with an appointment at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He is the recipient of the 2018 Christopher Heyde Medal of the Australian Academy of Science for distinguished research in the Mathematical Sciences.

Thomas Taimre is a Senior Lecturer of Mathematics and Statistics at The University of Queensland. His research interests range from applied probability and Monte Carlo methods to applied physics and the remarkably universal self-mixing effect in lasers. He has published over 100 articles, holds a patent, and is the coauthor of Handbook of Monte Carlo Methods (Wiley).

Radislav Vaisman is a Lecturer of Mathematics and Statistics at The University of Queensland. His research interests lie at the intersection of applied probability, machine learning, and computer science. He has published over 20 articles and two books.