Skip to main content Skip to side navigation
Peter Whigham imageBSc(Hons)(ANU), PhD(NSW)
Associate Professor

Room 3.43, Otago Business School
Tel +64 3 479 7391
Email peter.whigham@otago.ac.nz

Background and interests

Associate Professor Peter A Whigham is Director of the Spatial Information Research Centre (SIRC) and actively pursues research interests in spatial modelling, theoretical population genetics and evolutionary computation models.

Dr Whigham's interests include many aspects of spatial research including the use of machine learning techniques for modelling spatio-temporal patterns and the use of spatial systems for modelling ecological behaviour, aspects of public health and theoretical population genetics.

He also performs basic research in the field of evolutionary computation, especially genetic programming. His teaching interests include spatial modelling and analysis, intelligent information systems and applied ecology.

Current PhD students are performing research in financial and economic modelling of business processes, remote sensing technologies for methane emissions and landuse, general ecology and the interdisciplinarity of research teams at universities.

Dr Whigham is also a member of the research group:
Data Science

Dr Whigham is also the recipient of Teaching Awards and Supervisor Awards.

Papers

  • BSNS 112 Interpreting Business Data
  • INFO 304 Advanced Data Science
  • INFO 424 Adaptive Business Intelligence
  • SURV 208 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

Supervision

Currently supervising

  • Valentin Kiselev
  • Harry Peyhani
  • Mahsa Toorchi
  • Adriaan Lotter

Currently co-supervising

  • Saeed Rahimi
  • Caitlin Owen
  • Maryam Nakhoda

Publications

Rahimi, S., Moore, A. B., Whigham, P. A., & Dillingham, P. (2023). Counterfactual reasoning in space and time: Integrating graphical causal models in computational movement analysis. Transactions in GIS. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/tgis.13100
Journal - Research Article
Nakhoda, M., Whigham, P., & Zwanenburg, S. (2023). Quantifying and addressing uncertainty in the measurement of interdisciplinarity. Scientometrics. Advance online publication.
Journal - Research Article
Owen, C. A., Dick, G., & Whigham, P. A. (2023). Using decomposed error for reproducing implicit understanding of algorithms. Evolutionary Computation. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1162/evco_a_00321
Journal - Research Article
Owen, C. A., Dick, G., & Whigham, P. A. (2022). Towards explainable AutoML using error decomposition. Advances in artificial intelligence: Lecture notes in artificial intelligence (Vol. 13728). (pp. 177-190). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-22695-3_32
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Full paper
Rahimi, S., Moore, A. B., & Whigham, P. A. (2022). A vector-agent approach to (spatiotemporal) movement modelling and reasoning. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 21179. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-22056-9
Journal - Research Article
Dick, G., & Whigham, P. A. (2008). A weighted local sharing technique for multimodal optimisation. In X. Li & et al (Eds.), Simulated evolution and learning: Lecture notes in computer science (Vol. 5361). (pp. 452-461). Berlin, Germany: Springer.
Chapter in Book - Research
Whigham, P. A. (2005). Applying case-based reasoning to explore freshwater phytoplankton dynamics. In S. Lek, M. Scardi, P. F. M. Verdonschot, J.-P. Descy & Y.-S. Park (Eds.), Modelling community structure in freshwater ecosystems. (pp. 263-272). Berlin, Germany: Springer.
Chapter in Book - Research
Whigham, P., & Fogel, G. (2002). Ecological applications of evolutionary algorithms. In F. Recknagel (Ed.), Ecological Informatics: Understanding Ecology by Biologically Inspired Computation. (N/A ed.) (pp. 49-72). New York: Springer Verlag.
Chapter in Book - Research
Whigham, P., & Crapper, P. F. (1999). Time series modelling using genetic programming: an application to rainfall-runoff models. In L. Spector, W. B. Langdon, U. O'Reilly & P. J. Angeline (Eds.), Advances in Genetic Programming 3. (pp. 89-104). Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Nakhoda, M., Whigham, P., & Zwanenburg, S. (2023). Quantifying and addressing uncertainty in the measurement of interdisciplinarity. Scientometrics. Advance online publication.
Journal - Research Article
Owen, C. A., Dick, G., & Whigham, P. A. (2023). Using decomposed error for reproducing implicit understanding of algorithms. Evolutionary Computation. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1162/evco_a_00321
Journal - Research Article
Rahimi, S., Moore, A. B., Whigham, P. A., & Dillingham, P. (2023). Counterfactual reasoning in space and time: Integrating graphical causal models in computational movement analysis. Transactions in GIS. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/tgis.13100
Journal - Research Article
Owen, C. A., Dick, G., & Whigham, P. A. (2022). Standardization and data augmentation in genetic programming. IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation, 26(6), 1596-1608. doi: 10.1109/TEVC.2022.3160414
Journal - Research Article
Rahimi, S., Moore, A. B., & Whigham, P. A. (2022). A vector-agent approach to (spatiotemporal) movement modelling and reasoning. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 21179. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-22056-9
Journal - Research Article
Zwanenburg, S., Nakhoda, M., & Whigham, P. (2022). Toward greater consistency and validity in measuring interdisciplinarity: A systematic and conceptual evaluation. Scientometrics, 127, 7769-7788. doi: 10.1007/s11192-022-04310-z
Journal - Research Article
Rahimi, S., Moore, A. B., & Whigham, P. A. (2021). Beyond objects in space-time: Towards a movement analysis framework with ‘How ’and ‘Why’ elements. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 10, 190. doi: 10.3390/ijgi10030190
Journal - Research Article
Whigham, P. A., & Spencer, H. G. (2021). Graph-structured populations and the Hill-Robertson effect. Royal Society Open Science, 8, 201831. doi: 10.1098/rsos.201831
Journal - Research Article
Bosu, M. F., MacDonell, S. G., & Whigham, P. A. (2020). Analyzing the Stationarity Process in Software Effort Estimation Datasets. International Journal of Software Engineering & Knowledge Engineering, 30(11-12), 1607-1640. doi: 10.1142/S0218194020400239
Journal - Research Article
Easton, L. J., Bishop, P. J., & Whigham, P. A. (2020). Balancing act: Modelling sustainable release numbers for translocations. Animal Conservation, 23, 434-442. doi: 10.1111/acv.12558
Journal - Research Article
Owen, C. A., Dick, G., & Whigham, P. A. (2020). Characterizing genetic programming error through extended bias and variance decomposition. IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation, 24(6), 1164-1176. doi: 10.1109/tevc.2020.2990626
Journal - Research Article
Easton, L. J., Rawlence, N. J., Worthy, T. H., Tennyson, A. J. D., Scofield, R. P., Easton, C. J., … Whigham, P. A., Dickinson, K. J. M., & Bishop, P. J. (2018). Testing species limits of New Zealand’s leiopelmatid frogs through morphometric analyses. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 183(2), 431-444. doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx080
Journal - Research Article
Whigham, P. A., Dick, G., & Maclaurin, J. (2017). Just because it works: A response to comments on "On the mapping of genotype to phenotype in evolutionary algorithms". Genetic Programming & Evolvable Machines, 18(3), 399-405. doi: 10.1007/s10710-017-9289-9
Journal - Research Article
Whigham, P. A., Dick, G., & Maclaurin, J. (2017). On the mapping of genotype to phenotype in evolutionary algorithms. Genetic Programming & Evolvable Machines, 18(3), 353-361. doi: 10.1007/s10710-017-9288-x
Journal - Research Article
Easton, L. J., Dickinson, K. J. M., Whigham, P. A., & Bishop, P. J. (2016). Habitat suitability and requirements for a threatened New Zealand amphibian. Journal of Wildlife Management. doi: 10.1002/jwmg.1071
Journal - Research Article
Mark, A. F., Molau, U., Whigham, P., Little, L., & Nielsen, J. (2016). Periglacial tarn on the Rock and Pillar Range crest, south-central South Island, New Zealand, and its surrounding snowbank community. Austral Ecology, 41(3), 282-290. doi: 10.1111/aec.12310
Journal - Research Article
Nielsen, J. A., Frew, R. D., Whigham, P. A., Callaway, R. M., & Dickinson, K. J. M. (2016). Thyme travels: 15N isoscapes of Thymus vulgaris L. invasion in lightly grazed pastoral communities. Austral Ecology, 41(1), 28-39. doi: 10.1111/aec.12284
Journal - Research Article
Whigham, P. A., de Graaf, B., Srivastava, R., & Glue, P. (2016). Managing distance and covariate information with point-based clustering. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 16(1), 115. doi: 10.1186/s12874-016-0218-z
Journal - Research Article
Whigham, P. A., Dick, G., & Parry, M. (2016). Network rewiring dynamics with convergence towards a star network. Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 472(2194), 20160236. doi: 10.1098/rspa.2016.0236
Journal - Research Article
Cranston, B. H., Monks, A., Whigham, P. A., & Dickinson, K. J. M. (2015). Variation and response to experimental warming in a New Zealand cushion plant species. Austral Ecology, 40, 642-650. doi: 10.1111/aec.12231
Journal - Research Article
Nielsen, J. A., Frew, R. D., Whigham, P. A., Callaway, R. M., & Dickinson, K. J. M. (2015). Germination and growth responses of co-occurring grass species to soil from under invasive Thymus vulgaris. Allelopathy, 35(1), 139-152.
Journal - Research Article
Back to top