Steven Bird

Professor Steven Bird is a leading academic in Computational Linguistics and Language Revitalization at Charles Darwin University (CDU), affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Society and the Northern Institute. His work focuses on sustaining endangered languages through technology, collaboration with Indigenous communities, and participatory design. He holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh (1991) and has held prior appointments at Edinburgh, UPenn, Berkeley, and Melbourne.

Research Interests: Steven Bird’s research spans language documentation, computational linguistics, and Indigenous knowledge systems. Key areas include developing tools for oral language preservation, leveraging NLP for climate communication, and designing culturally responsive technologies with communities in Australia’s Top End and globally. Notable projects include the Top End Language Lab and the Aikuma Project, which use mobile apps to document and revitalize languages.

Grants & Awards: He leads major grants such as ‘Rainmaker Readiness’ (2020–2023) and ‘First Nations AI: Country, Climate, Communication’ (2024–2027). He received the prestigious Zampolli Prize (2022) for advancing language technology and preservation. His work intersects UN SDGs related to education, culture, and sustainability.

Labs & Teams: Directs the Top End Language Lab (language-lab.cdu.edu.au) and collaborates with Indigenous leaders on participatory language projects. His lab develops open-source tools like the Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) and promotes ethical AI practices in linguistics.