Owheo Building, Room 2.52
Tel +64 3 479 8586
Email michael.albert@otago.ac.nz
My background is in mathematics, particularly in algebra, combinatorics, and logic. These areas all relate to the theoretical side of computer science, specifically the study of (effective) computability, and the representation and manipulation of data.
I am particularly interested in algorithms for counting (either exactly or approximately), sampling from, or manipulating combinatorial objects. I am an enthusiastic advocate of the use of computing resources in problem solving activities of all types. The study of combinatorial games is a particularly fruitful source of such problems, and also provides illustrations of the thesis that some hard computational problems can be rendered much simpler by a suitable change of perspective.
Inaugural Professorial Lecture, 16th of April 2013, can be viewed here (237MB) or listened to here (67MB).