Yi Mei

Dr. Yi Mei is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean (Research) at the Faculty of Engineering, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He serves as Programme Director for Computer Science & Computer Graphics within the School of Engineering and Computer Science and is affiliated with the Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (CDSAI).

Dr. Mei's research focuses on evolutionary computation for combinatorial optimisation, with specific expertise in genetic programming, automatic algorithm design, explainable AI, and multi-objective optimisation. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, and aquaculture.

His publication portfolio shows a clear trajectory toward increasingly complex real-world applications of evolutionary computation, with recent work focusing on emergency medical dispatch optimization, dynamic transportation systems, and explainable AI for routing problems. The research demonstrates strong interdisciplinary connections between evolutionary computation, machine learning, and domain-specific optimization challenges.

• Victoria University of Wellington Ki te Pae - Research Excellence Award 2024
• Multiple Best Paper Awards at ACM Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO) from 2022-2024
• HUMIES Silver Award at GECCO 2023
• IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation Outstanding Associate Editor (2024, 2025)
• Fellow of Engineering New Zealand and IEEE Senior Member

Dr. Mei has successfully supervised numerous PhD and Master's students whose research has received recognition, including the ACM SIGEVO Dissertation Award. He leads significant research projects funded by MBIE Endeavour Smart Idea Fund ($1M NZD), New Zealand Royal Society Catalyst Leaders Fund ($150K NZD), and industry partners like Honda Research Institute Europe. His service contributions include editorial roles for top journals including IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation and leadership positions in IEEE Computational Intelligence Society.

Dr. Mei leads the Evolutionary Computation for Combinatorial Optimisation Group (ECCO) and the Evolutionary Computation and Machine Learning Research Group (ECRG) at Victoria University of Wellington. He also chairs the IEEE Taskforce on Evolutionary Scheduling and Combinatorial Optimisation (TESCO), fostering international collaboration in evolutionary computation applications.