Prof Zbigniew (Mike)
Michalewicz

Speaker Profile

Zbigniew (Mike) Michalewicz is perhaps best-known as the pioneer of Puzzle-Based Learning, a new teaching and learning methodology focused on the development of problem-solving skills, and the co-author of the book on which it is based.

Puzzle-Based Learning provides a much-needed way in which to teach and learn about critical thinking, mathematics and the solving of unstructured problems that traditional education often fails to provide. It provides a way in which to frame and address real-world problems as we experience them: without instructions and chapter-by-chapter guidance. Most importantly, it is fun and eminently accessible and will have you thinking about solving problems in a completely new and positive way.

A Professor at the School of Computer Science, University of Adelaide, Mike Michalewicz completed his MSc degree at Technical University of Warsaw in 1974, received a PhD degree from the Institute of Computer Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, in 1981 and holds a Doctor of Science (Habilitation) degree in Computer Science from the Polish Academy of Science (1997). In April 2002 he received the title of Professor from the President of Poland, Mr. Alexander Kwasniewski and from 1988 to 2004 he was Professor at University of North Carolina at Charlotte (USA). Mike Michalewicz also holds Professor positions at the Institute of Computer Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, at the Polish-Japanese Institute of Information Technology, and an honorary Professor position at State Key Laboratory of Software Engineering of Wuhan University, China. He is also associated with Structural Complexity Laboratory at Seoul National University, South Korea. Mike is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society. In 2006 he was appointed a Business Ambassador for the State of South Australia.

His current research interests are in the field of evolutionary computation. He has published several books, including a monograph 'Genetic Algorithms + Data Structures = Evolution Programs' (three editions, a few translations), and over 200 technical papers in journals and conference proceedings. He was one of the editors-in-chief of The Handbook of Evolutionary Computation. He was the general chairman of the First IEEE International Conference on Evolutionary Computation held in Orlando, June 1994. He has been an invited speaker of many international conferences and a member of 40 various program committees of international conferences during the last four years. He is a current member of the editorial board and/or serves as associate editor on 12 international journals. He also published (together with David B. Fogel) a text on modern heuristic methods (two editions, the second one from 2004), How to Solve It: Modern Heuristics, which is a standard text on hundreds of universities all over the world (Chinese translation of the book appeared in 2003 and Polish translation appeared in 2006). His most recent books include Winning Credibility: A guide for building a business from rags to riches, Adaptive Business Intelligence and Puzzle-Based Learning: An introduction to critical thinking, mathematics, and problem solving.

Mike has secured numerous multi-million dollar industry contracts from companies such as General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Bank of America, U.S. Department of Defense, AirLiquide, PKN Orlen, BB&T, and Dentsu, and his scientific and business achievements have been recognized by many invited talks and publications, including TIME Magazine, Newsweek, New York Times, Forbes, Business Journal, and the Associated Press among others. Currently, Mike also serves as the Chairman of the Board of SolveIT Software, a technology company he co-founded with several world-renowned computer scientists. The company uses leading Computational Intelligence methods to address complex business problems for large corporations and government agencies.

Mike delivers keynotes, workshops and programs over single or multiple days. All are fun, interactive and enormously effective in developing problem solving skills.

Travels from South Australia