DoctorWilliam Connelly

Highlights

After more than a decade studying the computations performed by biological neural circuits, Dr William Connelly's research has shifted from understanding intelligence in the brain to building intelligent systems. His work now focuses on applied artificial intelligence and machine learning, developing models that solve practical problems in medicine, neuroscience and conservation. His research spans computer vision, deep learning, time-series analysis and explainable AI, with applications including human movement analysis, medical decision support, and embedded AI systems for wildlife conservation. Recent projects include the development of edge AI systems capable of identifying Tasmanian devils in the field to support automated vaccine delivery for the conservation of this endangered species.

Dr Connelly's interest in machine learning grew directly out of his background as a neuroscientist. Having spent years studying biological neural networks, he was fascinated by the idea of constructing artificial ones: systems whose internal computations could be examined and understood in complete detail. Training his first neural network to recognise handwritten digits was a turning point. Watching a collection of simple mathematical operations learn to solve a problem without being explicitly programmed convinced him that machine learning would become one of the defining technologies of modern science. Since then, he has applied AI across a diverse range of biomedical and ecological problems, combining a strong quantitative background with practical experience developing, training and deploying deep learning models. His current research emphasises building reliable AI systems that can operate outside the laboratory, from wearable health technologies to low-power embedded devices deployed in remote environments.

Biography
Dr William Connelly completed his PhD at the University of Otago, NZ, where he used electrophysiology to study inhibitory neurotransmission in the central nervous system. He then took up a post-doctoral position with Prof. Vincenzo Crunelli, Cardiff University, UK, where he worked on the physiology of thalamocortical neurons. He then took up a position working with Prof Greg Stuart, Australian National University, where he worked on trying to understand synaptic integration in the visual cortex.

In 2018 he took up a Lectureship at the University of Tasmania.