Kate Amanda Smith-Miles is an Australian

applied mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History One ...

, known for her research on

neural network A neural network is a group of interconnected units called neurons that send signals to one another. Neurons can be either biological cells or signal pathways. While individual neurons are simple, many of them together in a network can perfor ...

s and

combinatorial optimization Combinatorial optimization is a subfield of mathematical optimization that consists of finding an optimal object from a finite set of objects, where the set of feasible solutions is discrete or can be reduced to a discrete set. Typical combina ...

. She is a Melbourne Laureate Professor of applied mathematics at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, and a former president of the

Australian Mathematical Society The Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS) was founded in 1956 and is the national society of the mathematics profession in Australia. One of the society's listed purposes is to promote the cause of mathematics in the community by representing ...

Education and career

Smith-Miles earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics at the University of Melbourne. There, she did honours research on

chaos theory Chaos theory is an interdisciplinary area of Scientific method, scientific study and branch of mathematics. It focuses on underlying patterns and Deterministic system, deterministic Scientific law, laws of dynamical systems that are highly sens ...

under the mentorship of Colin J. Thompson, and initially planned to continue in graduate study in mathematics, but instead earned her Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Melbourne, working with

Marimuthu Palaniswami Marimuthu Palaniswami from The University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Austral ...

and with Mohan Krishnamoorthy at

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

. She worked as a professor of information technology in the School of Business Systems at

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

from 1996 to 2006, as a professor of information technology and head of the school of engineering at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

from 2006 to 2009, and as a professor of applied mathematics at Monash University from 2009 to 2017 and head of the school of mathematical sciences at Monash from 2009 to 2014. In 2017 she took her present position at Melbourne.

Recognition

Smith-Miles is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers Australia (elected 2006), and of the Australian Mathematical Society (elected 2008). She is the 2010 winner of the

Australian Mathematical Society Medal The Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS) was founded in 1956 and is the national society of the mathematics profession in Australia. One of the society's listed purposes is to promote the cause of mathematics in the community by representing ...

and the 2017 winner of the E. O. Tuck Medal of

ANZIAM The Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS) was founded in 1956 and is the national society of the mathematics profession in Australia. One of the society's listed purposes is to promote the cause of mathematics in the community by representing ...

(Australia and New Zealand Industrial and Applied Mathematics). In 2014 the

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

awarded the

Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship The Australian Laureate Fellowship is an Australian professorial research fellowship awarded by the Australian Research Council. Fellows are chosen each year for five-year awards. In 2023 8 industry-focused Laureate Fellowships were awarded for the ...

to her. She was elected a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...

in 2022. Smith-Miles was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the

2024 King's Birthday Honours The 2024 King's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of King Charles III to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part o ...

for "distinguished service to tertiary education, to applied mathematical research, and as a role model and advocate for women in STEM".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith-Miles, Kate Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian women mathematicians University of Melbourne alumni Academic staff of Monash University Academic staff of Deakin University Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Australian women academics 21st-century Australian mathematicians Officers of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science