This photo is from 2014, visiting the castle in Heidelberg while on sabbatical at the University of Tübingen. I'm pondering either the legacy of Count Carl von Graimberg, or the hot chocolate to come shortly.
CONTACT DETAILS
| addr: |
School of Computing
Macquarie University North Ryde NSW 2109 Australia |
| email: | mark.dras AT mq . edu . au |
| room: | 4 Research Park Drive (also known as the BD building), level 2, room 208 |
| phone: | +61 2 9850 9580 |
Workwise, I'm a professor in the School of Computing of Macquarie University, in Sydney, Australia. Before Macquarie, I was a research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Research in Cognitive Science.
Here is how ChatGPT described me on 10 Feb 2023 based on a colleague's prompt. It contains some of the sorts of hallucinations that neural language models are prone to (see also discussions of possible reasons for these, and a survey of research on the issue); I'll leave it open as to what ChatGPT has hallucinated about me.
RESEARCH
I work in natural language processing (NLP) / language technology / computational linguistics, and am a member of the Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing research group.
Specifically, I've worked on (among other things) native language identification, machine translation, natural language generation, and sentiment analysis (with a focus on how sentiment affects language choices). Some related info:
Other research-related activities:
- I run the school's Machine Learning Reading Group.
- I'm Treasurer on the executive board of the new Asia-Pacific Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics.
I'm the School of Computing's director of research training (i.e. covering PhD and research masters) students.
TEACHING
In semester 1, 2023, I'll be teaching
- COMP2010 Algorithms and Data Structures [Handbook | Unit Guide]
- COMP7220 Data Science and Machine Learning [Handbook | Unit Guide]
- COMP8220 Machine Learning [Handbook | Unit Guide]
I've taught a range of units over the years. I also think it's useful for students to know something about what their teachers are likely to be like. As one source of information, there's the sporadic appearance of the Alternative Calendar, but computing units are hardly ever mentioned there, and it usually sounds as if there's only ever a couple of (disgruntled) respondants. So, in case you're thinking of taking a class with me, here's a link to evaluations for several of my units.
OTHER
Some non-work things.
I'm a member of Macquarie's Ally Network.