Brett is a senior data scientist with experience in software development, data wrangling, machine learning, and the philosophy of science.
During a 30-year career, Brett has enjoyed a diverse mix of professional and academic roles. Particular achievements include co-authoring software to reconstruct the evolutionary past of a species (now used by thousands of biologists) and building a system to analyse a network of billions of financial transactions in small businesses across Australasia. He has also published papers in topics ranging from the impact of microbiome research on society to measuring causal influence in biological systems.
Brett has a PhD in Philosophy of Science from the Australian National University, where he studied how complex organisation arises in humans and other animals. He is a member of the editorial board of Biological Theory and an honorary associate of the philosophy department at the University of Sydney.
Data science and philosophy might seem like an odd couple at first, but I often find my background in philosophy can help navigate the combination of complex computer models, the constraints of human understanding, and the ever-present ethical issues found in data science.