ACS appoints new fellow

Australian Computer Society (ACS) recently awarded Professor Marcus Foth the prestigious title of fellow.

The ACS citation recognised Professor Foth’s contribution to the field of computer science that coincides with how cities house major infrastructures for most of the world’s population.

Foth founded the Urban Informatics Research Lab at QUT in 2006, before the term ‘smart cities’ was as popular as it is today, pioneering a new field of study and practice.

It was the first research group in the world explicitly named to reflect its dedication to the study of urban informatics. Urban informatics examines people creating, applying and using information and communication technology and data in cities and urban environments. His work makes clear how academic research can successfully respond to societal challenges.

In 2009 Foh’s Handbook of Research on Urban Informatics was the first to charter this new transdisciplinary research terrain, bringing together the social sciences and humanities; architecture, design, planning and the built environment; and, computer science and information technology.

In collaboration with the Open Data Institute Queensland, Professor Foth brought the international and rapidly expanding Open and Agile Smart Cities (OASC) network to Australia aiming to implement open standards and to create an open smart city market based on the needs of cities and communities.

“It is exciting to see our work receiving renewed attention from industry and local governments with the recent release of the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program by the Australian Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet,” Professor Foth said.

“We celebrated the lab’s 10-year anniversary last year, and are only now slowly realising that we have been trailblazers without knowing it at the time. And we want to remain at the cutting edge by seeking out critical research topics, such as the sociocultural impact of big data and algorithms on cities; combining physical and digital opportunities to design better citizen engagement; and, the potential of block chain and distributed ledger technology.”

Professor Foth received the great news from the ACS while in Europe by invitation of Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland, where he delivered a keynote talk on Smart Cities, Urban Informatics, and Sustainability: Challenges & Opportunities.

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