Computers and Creativity

Jon McCormack is an electronic media artist and researcher in computing. He holds a degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from Monash University, a Graduate Diploma of Art (Film and Television) from Swinburne University and a PhD in Computer Science from Monash University, Melbourne. He is currently Associate Professor in Computer Science, an ARC Australian Research Fellow and director of the Centre for Electronic Media Art (CEMA) at Monash University. His research spans generative art and design, evolutionary systems, creativity, visualisation, interaction, machine learning, L-systems and developmental models. His artworks have been widely exhibited at leading galleries, museums and symposia, including the Museum of Modern Art (New York, USA), Tate Gallery (Liverpool, UK), ACM SIGGRAPH (USA), Prix Ars Electronica (Austria) and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (Australia). He is the recipient of 16 awards for new media art and research including prizes at Ars Electronica (Austria), Images du Futur (Canada), New Voices, New Visions (USA), Alias/Wavefront (USA), The John Lansdown Award for Interactive Media (Europe/UK), and Nagoya Biennial (Japan). Mark d'Inverno holds an MA and MSc in Mathematics from Oxford University and a PhD from University College London in Artificial Intelligence. He is Professor of Computer Science at Goldsmiths, University of London and for four years between 2007 and 2011 was head of the Department of Computing which has championed interdisciplinary research and teaching around computers and creativity for nearly a decade. He has published over 100 articles including books, journal and conference articles and led research projects in a diverse range of fields relating to computer science including multi-agent systems, systems biology, art, music and social media. During the final editing of this book he took a research sabbatical shared between the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute and the Sony Computer Science Laboratory in Paris. He is currently the principal investigator or co-investigator  on a range of EU and UK projects spanning community building, sharing social experiences, inspiring creativity, cultural engagement and music education. He is a critically acclaimed jazz pianist and composer and over the last 25 years has led a variety of successful bands in a range of different musical genres.