Toby Walsh

Toby Walsh is a Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), holding multiple prestigious positions including Laureate Fellow, research group leader at Data61, adjunct professor at QUT, external Professor at Uppsala University, honorary fellow at Edinburgh University, and Associate Member of the Australian Human Rights Institute at UNSW.

His research spans the breadth of artificial intelligence with particular focus on constraint programming, computational social choice, and fair division. Professor Walsh has made significant contributions to the theoretical foundations of AI, especially in areas related to preference representation, voting systems, and mechanism design. His work bridges theoretical computer science with practical applications in social choice and resource allocation problems. In recent years, he has expanded his research to address pressing ethical issues in AI, including privacy concerns, facial recognition technology, and AI's impact on intellectual property law.

Walsh's publication record demonstrates consistent high-impact contributions across decades, with recent work showing increasing attention to societal implications of AI technologies. His research portfolio includes both theoretical advances in constraint satisfaction and practical applications in fair division algorithms, reflecting his ability to connect foundational research with real-world problems.

• NSW Premier's Prize for Excellence in Engineering and ICT
• Humboldt Award
• Research Excellence Award of the Association for Constraint Programming
• IJCAI Donald E. Walker Distinguished Service Award

Professor Walsh has served the academic community extensively through editorial roles as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research and AI Communications, and on the editorial boards of the Journal of the ACM, Journal of Automated Reasoning, and Constraints journal. He has been actively involved in major AI conferences as Program and Conference Chair for Constraint Programming, Automated Reasoning, and Artificial Intelligence venues. His leadership extends to professional organizations where he has served as Secretary of the Association for Constraint Programming and Editor of CP News.

As research group leader at Data61, Walsh oversees a team focused on advancing AI research with practical applications. His group has contributed significantly to constraint programming and computational social choice, developing algorithms and theoretical frameworks that have influenced both academic research and practical implementations in resource allocation systems.