The Authors
Zbigniew Michalewicz
Zbigniew Michalewicz is Professor at the School of Computer Science, University of Adelaide. He completed his MSc degree at Technical University of Warsaw in 1974 and he received PhD degree from Institute of Computer Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, in 1981. He holds 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. From 1988 to 2004 he was Professor at University of North Carolina at Charlotte (USA). Zbigniew Michalewicz holds also Professor positions at the Institute of Computer Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, at the Polish-Japanese Institute of Information Technology, and a 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. Zbigniew Michalewicz 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" (3 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 3 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 ( 2 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). The newest books include "Winning Credibility: A guide for building a business from rags to riches" and "Adaptive Business Intelligence."
His current research interests are related to various problem-solving activities and teaching methodologies.
Zbigniew 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, Zbigniew 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 provides enterprise software solutions for advanced planning & scheduling, supply chain network optimisation, demand optimisation, and predictive modelling.
Matthew Michalewicz
Serial entrepreneur and former Ernst & Young management consultant, Matthew Michalewicz has almost fifteen years of hands-on experience in starting, running, and exiting high-growth companies. He is the founder of TechMentor, a structured mentoring program for early-stage entrepreneurs wanting to raise venture capital, and the co-author of several books and publications, including Winning Credibility: A guide for building a business from rags to riches and Adaptive Business Intelligence.
Matthew is also the Chief Executive Officer of SolveIT Software Pty Ltd, an Australian company specialising in enterprise software solutions for advanced planning & scheduling, supply chain network optimisation, demand optimisation, and predictive modelling. Prior to co-founding SolveIT Software, Matthew served as Chairman and CEO of a high-tech company he founded in the United States in 1999. By raising US$15 million in venture capital and completing 4 multi-million dollar acquisitions, he grew the company to more than 150 employees in 6 international offices. In 2003 he left the company and sold his ownership stake for a profit of several thousand percent.
Matthew’s business achievements have been recognised by countless publications, including Time Magazine, New York Times, Forbes, Wired Magazine, Business Journal, Associated Press, Ziff Davis, Information Week, Newsweek, and many others.
He was also named to Charlotte’s “40 under 40” list of accomplished business leaders by the Business Journal, “Alumnus of the Year” by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and “Entrepreneur of the Year” finalist by Ernst and Young.
Matthew currently serves on many boards and committees, including the Independent Panel of Experts for the Intelligent Island Project, the Board of Directors of the South Australian Tourism Commission, Council of Governors of the American Chamber of Commerce, and the Business Advisory Board of the Polish-Japanese Institute of Information Technology. He is also a Business Ambassador for the state of South Australia, a national judge for the Secrets of Australian IT Innovation contest, and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Adelaide.
Matthew Michalewicz holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Corporate Finance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a Company Directors Course Diploma from the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
More information on Matthew can be found at his personal website.
