Michael Small

I am interested in complex systems and how understanding of complexity can help solve real engineering problems. My undergraduate degree was in pure mathematics (with an honours dissertation in the history of mathematics) and my graduate degree was in applied mathematics (in nonlinear dynamical systems and nonlinear time series analysis). I have since moved through financial modelling and computational physics and spent more than 10 years working in an electronic and information engineering department. My interests are in diverse applications of complex systems science, and are therefore inherently inter-disciplinary and multi disciplinary. I have applied myself to a wide range of applications: physiological (neurophysiology, epidemiology, respiration and cardiology), biological, financial, mechanical, and engineering. 

In 2011, I was awarded a Professorial Future Fellowship from the Australian Research Council and took up a position with the School of Mathematics and Statistics, at The University of Western Australia. In 2015, I was appointed as the  CSIRO-UWA Chair in Complex Engineering Systems.  I see this position as an exciting opportunity to combine theory and engineering practice and a chance to cement my position at the nexus between applied mathematics, industry focussed research and industrial application. I am working on developing the foundation of complex systems science and seeking applications in engineering problems, particularly for remote operations in the energy and resources sectors. 

Department of Electronic and Informaation Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2001-2011

Department of Physics, Heriot-Watt University, 1999-2001

Department of Mathematics, Stellenbosch University, 1998