Artificial Life Fundamentals

 Prof. Chrystopher L. Nehaniv is Professor of Mathematical and Evolutionary Computer Sciences, University of Hertfordshire. Dr. Nehaniv obtained his BSc (Honors) and PhD in Mathematics from the University of Michigan and the University of California, Berkeley. In 1993 he became Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Aizu, Japan, where he led research groups (ALGA) and taught Artificial Life from 1993-1998, publishing many research papers in both theoretical and applied areas of the field. His teaching in Japan involved the development of multimedia on-line materials for students learning about Artificial Life techniques, many of whom have gone on to conduct related work in industry or academia. In 1998, he came to the UK and joined the University of Hertfordshire, where he is a co-organiser of the Interactive Systems Engineering and Adaptive Systems Research Groups. He is a principal organizer of workshops on several topics in Artificial Life (e.g., "The Right Stuff: Appropriate Mathematics for Evolutionary and Developmental Biology" with Prof. G. P. Wagner (Yale) at the 6th International Conference on Artificial Life; and "Evolvability" at the 7th International Conference on Artificial Life, among other events), and has edited several volumes in areas close to Artificial Life and is an Associate Editor of the journal BioSystems. Dr. Nehaniv's expertise in the area of Artificial Life ranges from the theoretical and mathematical modelling of life-as-it-could-be to applications of artificial life techniques in agent and software systems. He is the principal investigator and organiser of the new interdisciplinary EPSRC Network on "Evolvability in Biological and Software Systems".