Mark Keane

Prof. Mark Keane has served as Chair of Computer Science at University College Dublin since 1998. A cognitive psychology expert with a PhD from Trinity College Dublin, his career spans multiple institutions including the University of London, Open University, Cardiff University, and TCD. He has held leadership roles such as Director of ICT at Science Foundation Ireland (2004-2006) and Director General at SFI (2006-2007), overseeing €700M+ research investments. His work focuses on explainable AI, counterfactual reasoning, and sustainable agriculture applications.

• BA (UCD), PhD (TCD) in Cognitive Psychology
• Over 200 publications, H-index 45, 10,800+ citations
• Key advisor for Ireland's €3.7B Science, Technology & Innovation Strategy

His research explores counterfactual explanations, semi-factual reasoning, and XAI in domains like dairy farming and climate resilience. Recent work combines machine learning with cognitive models to improve grass growth prediction and mastitis detection. He also investigates surprise theory through computational models.

As Vice-President of Innovation & Partnerships at UCD (2007-2009), he drove academic-industry collaborations. Current affiliations include the Insight Centre for Data Analytics, where he leads AI research teams advancing case-based reasoning and deep learning integrations for explainable systems.