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Howdy! I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Tulane University.

My research is broadly in the theory and practice of artificial intelligence; I am motivated by problems that require a blend of techniques to develop systems and algorithms that support decision making for autonomous agents and/or humans. Most of my projects and leverage theory, data, and experiment to create novel algorithms, mechanisms, and systems that enable and support individual and group decision making.  I try to make as much of the code and data available through PrefLib and GitHub.

Previously, I was a Research Staff Member at IBM TJ Watson Research Laboratory in the IBM Research AI – Reasoning Lab where I worked on a number of topics including Complex Question Answering / Natural Language Inference, Decision Making, and issues in AI, Ethics, and Society.

Before that, I was a senior researcher working with Prof. Toby Walsh in the AI & Algorithmic Decision Theory Group at Data61, formerly known as the Optimisation Group at NICTA, a unit of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).  I am the founder and maintainer of PrefLib: A Library for Preferences.  So check it out at www.PrefLib.org for lots of great preference data and PrefLib-Tools on GitHub for more data wrangling tools.  We also have had a great time with our Exploring Beyond the Worst Case in Computational Social Choice (EXPLORE) series held at AAMAS in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.  I am (still) an adjunct lecturer in the School of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) and member of the Algorithms Group at the University of New South Wales in beautiful Sydney, Australia.

Before that, I was a Ph.D student at the University of Kentucky (UK) working with Prof. Judy Goldsmith on AI and Complexity Theory.

And in the way olden days I worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center designing embedded hardware and software flight systems for nano-satellites.

In another life I drove trucks full of carnival prizes all over central Kentucky and Indiana … you don’t know fun till you’ve delivered several hundred pounds of stuffed animals to shooting booths at remote county fairs.

I can be reached at: nsmattei <AT> tulane.edu OR nsmattei <AT> gmail.com. Remember to substitute between the angle brackets!

Some photos from living upside down (turn monitor over for full effect).  If you love nature pictures and distressed art check out Liz’s Etsy Store!

(Mostly) Current Things You Should Submit To or Read!

Some Slightly Older Things