Mars Buttfield-Addison

How many sectors are left that don't use technology in some way? It's a hard question, because computers and smart machines are everywhere these days! In the right hands, they can enable amazing things—from scientific breakthroughs, to saving lives, to breathtaking creative works. In the wrong hands, they can be ineffective or even harmful.

Mars Buttfield-Addison uses technology for good. She is a Computer Scientist, specialising in machine learning and supercomputing. In this role, she has worked to solve problems spanning public health to aerospace, all with computers. And she's passionate about empowering others to do the same.

Mars has Bachelor and Honours degrees in Information and Communication Technology, and is working towards her PhD in Computer Engineering at the University of Tasmania. On the side, she's an avid freelancer for all things technology and STEM outreach—writing books, apps and teaching materials; organising, speaking and volunteering at events; tutoring privately, through her university and for the local Indigenous centre; working for companies towards ethical use of technology and artificial intelligence; contributing to free-to-use software used by scientists around the world; and involving herself in every effort to inform the public about the benefits and dangers of advanced technologies.