Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Professor Ann E. Nicholson is Dean in the Faculty of Information Technology. Other past leadership roles including Deputy Dean (Research) 2018-2020, (Acting) Deputy Dean 2016-2017, and Associate Dean (Education) 2014-2016. After completing her BSc (Hons) and MSc in Computer Sciene at the University of Melbourne, in 1988 she was awarded a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford, where she did her doctorate in the Robotics Research Group. After completing a post-doc at Brown University, she returned to Australia to take up a lecturing position position at Monash in 1994. Prof. Nicholson specialises in the broad area of Artificial Intelligence, a sub-discipline of computer science. She is a leading international researcher in the specialised area of Bayesian networks, now the dominant technology for probabilistic causal modelling in intelligent systems. She has published more than 100 peer reviewed papers, co-authored the well-received book "Bayesian Artificial Intelligence", and attracted more than $8M in research funding. She has applied Bayesian Network technology to problem-solving in many domains including meteorology, epidemiology, medicine, education and environmental science. Examples include the use of BNs in biosecurity risk assessment, predicting the impact of conservation actions on threats and habitats of threatened species, fog forecasting and decision support for clinical cardiovascular risk assessment.
Community service
(Current 2020)
- Victorian Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee, Honorary Secretary
Monash teaching commitment
While having no curent teaching commitments, Professor Ann Nicholson has experience as the Chief Examiner and/or lecturer for the following units in the Faculty of IT:
- FIT1010 Introduction to software engineering
- FIT1016/2044 Advanced project level 1 & 2
- FIT1049/2003 IT professional practice
Research interests
Ann specialises in Bayesian network modelling and is an expert in dynamic Bayesian networks, planning under uncertainty, user modelling, Bayesian inference methods, and knowledge engineering with Bayesian networks.
Education/Academic qualification
Engineering Science, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Oxford
Award Date: 1 Jun 1993
Computer Science, Master of Science, University of Melbourne
Award Date: 1 Feb 1990
Computer Science, Bachelor of Science (Honours), University of Melbourne
Award Date: 1 Feb 1987
Research area keywords
- Artificial intelligence
- Bayesian networks
- Data Mining
- Risk analysis
- Probabilistic reasoning
- Knowledge Engineering
- Causal discovery
- Decision support
Network
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MCRI - Vaccine Surveillance using Bayesian Networks
Nicholson, A., Buttery, J. & Pearson, R.
Murdoch Children's Research Institute
31/03/22 → 29/09/25
Project: Research
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Improving human reasoning with causal Bayes networks: a multimodal approach
Nicholson, A., Wybrow, M., Zukerman, I., Lagnado, D. & Hahn, U.
23/11/20 → 22/11/23
Project: Research
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Building 4.0 CRC: Better buildings, new efficiencies through technology and collaboration
Aitchison, M., Ngo, T. D., Maxwell, D., Couper, R., Breen Lovett, S., Cumarasamy, S., Blue, K., Laverty, C., Gerber, P., Merkoulova, Y., Sohal, A., Dare, R., Moehler, R., Nicholson, A., Grundy, J., Garcia De La Banda, M., McCormack, J., Vu, L. H., Dwyer, T., Murray, S., Kulic, D., Bai, Y., Davies, C., Zhou, J., Duffield, C., Singh, P. J., Bridge, A., Erol, I., Drogemuller, R. & Mahendran, M.
10/09/20 → 30/06/27
Project: Research
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The Pandemic Imperative: Clinical Data and Analytics Platform to improve clinical outcomes through point-of-care decision support
Bellgard, M. I., Snelling, T. L., Nicholson, A., McNeil, K., Bolevich, Z. & McBride, P.
2/04/20 → 1/04/23
Project: Research
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BARD: a structured technique for group elicitation of Bayesian networks to support analytic reasoning
Nyberg, E. P., Nicholson, A. E., Korb, K. B., Wybrow, M., Zukerman, I., Mascaro, S., Thakur, S., Oshni Alvandi, A., Riley, J., Pearson, R., Morris, S., Herrmann, M., Azad, A. K. M., Bolger, F., Hahn, U. & Lagnado, D., 19 Jun 2021, (Accepted/In press) In: Risk Analysis. 24 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
Bridging the gaps in test interpretation of SARS-CoV-2 through Bayesian network modelling
Wu, Y., Foley, D., Ramsay, J., Woodberry, O., Mascaro, S., Nicholson, A. E. & Snelling, T., 23 Jun 2021, In: Epidemiology and Infection. 149, 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus) -
The Monash Autism-ADHD genetics and neurodevelopment (MAGNET) project design and methodologies: a dimensional approach to understanding neurobiological and genetic aetiology
Knott, R., Johnson, B. P., Tiego, J., Mellahn, O., Finlay, A., Kallady, K., Kouspos, M., Mohanakumar Sindhu, V. P., Hawi, Z., Arnatkeviciute, A., Chau, T., Maron, D., Mercieca, E. C., Furley, K., Harris, K., Williams, K., Ure, A., Fornito, A., Gray, K., Coghill, D. & 7 others, , 5 Aug 2021, In: Molecular Autism. 12, 1, 24 p., 55.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Other › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
AI for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals and supporting and promoting action and policy development
Miller, L., Bolton, M., Boulton, J., Mintrom, M., Nicholson, A., Rudiger, C., Skinner, R., Raven, R. & Webb, G. I., 2020, 2020 IEEE / ITU International Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Good, AI4G 2020. Piscataway NJ USA: IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, p. 180-185 6 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review
2 Citations (Scopus) -
Individuals vs. BARD: experimental evaluation of an online system for structured, collaborative Bayesian reasoning
Korb, K. B., Nyberg, E. P., Oshni Alvandi, A., Thakur, S., Ozmen, M., Li, Y., Pearson, R. & Nicholson, A. E., 18 Jun 2020, In: Frontiers in Psychology. 11, 20 p., 1054.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)
Activities
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Interim Dean, Faculty of IT
Ann Nicholson (Speaker)
Jul 2020 → …Activity: Other Teaching Engagements and non-HDR Supervisions › Other
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Honorary Secretary, Victoria Rhodes Selection Committee
Ann Nicholson (Speaker)
2019 → 2023Activity: Other Teaching Engagements and non-HDR Supervisions › Other
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Deputy Dean (Research), Faculty of IT
Ann Nicholson (Speaker)
Aug 2018 → Jul 2020Activity: Other Teaching Engagements and non-HDR Supervisions › Other
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Chair - Faculty Education Committee - Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University
Ann Nicholson (Chair/ Co-Chair)
1 Jan 2016Activity: External Academic Engagement › External research and teaching
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Associate Dean (Education), Faculty of IT
Ann Nicholson (Speaker)
Jan 2014 → Jul 2016Activity: Other Teaching Engagements and non-HDR Supervisions › Other
Press / Media
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Algorithm to cut birth risk
Sharon Licqurish, Ann Nicholson & Nikolajs Zeps
17/02/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature