Research Interests
- Inventor, NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topologies (NEAT), HyperNEAT, and Novelty Search Algorithms
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
- Evolutionary Computation
- Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs)
- Neuroevolution: Evolving ANNs with Evolutionary Algorithms
- Generative and Developmental Systems
- AI and ML in Video Games and Real-time Simulations
Book
(with coauthor Joel Lehman)
- Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective. Springer International Publishing, 141 pages, May 2015.
Professional Activities
- Executive Committee of the ACM Special Interest Group on Genetic and Evolutionary Computation (ACM SIGEVO), since 2011
- Editorial Board of Frontiers in Robotics and AI, since 2015
- Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Computational Intelligence and AI Games, since 2008
- Founder and Editor in Chief of aigameresearch.org, a peer-reviewed repository for AI-based research-related games, since 2012.
Honors & Awards
- UCF Reach for the Stars Award, 2014
- UCF CECS Dean’s Research Professorship Award, 2013
- UCF Research Incentive Award (RIA), 2012
- ACM Distinguished Speaker, named September 2011
- UCF Teaching Incentive Program (TIP) Award, 2011
- 2008 DARPA Computer Science Study Group (CSSG)
- Ten Best Paper Awards at International Conferences (GECCO-2014, IJCNN-2012, GECCO-2011,GECCO-2010,GECCO-2009, CIG’09, GECCO-2008, EvoMUSART-2008, CIG’05, GECCO-2002)
- Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award (School of EECS), 2008
- Finalist, 2010 Indie Game Challenge (12 of 250 independent games were chosen)