I received an honours B.Sc. degree in Information Technology from NUI Galway in 2006. I received an M.Sc. degree in Applied Computing and Information Technology from NUI Galway in 2010 as part of a collaborative project between NUI Galway and UCD. This work involved developing a One-Sided Classification toolkit and carrying out experimentation on high dimensional spectroscopy data. This work resulted in a single Public - No restrictionation which won a best paper award at a national AI conference. I received a Ph.D. from NUI Galway in 2016. My Ph.D. research involved designing and implementing multiple reinforcement learning architectures in Java to automate the control and adaption of non-player characters in a commercial first-person shooter game. I helped to set up the ComputerDISC programming support service in NUI Galway in 2010 and I managed, as well as tutored, in the centre for five years under a HEA funded teaching scholarship. My Ph.D. work resulted in four peer-reviewed papers being published including an international student best paper award. Upon finishing my Ph.D., I began work as a software engineer for Analyze IQ Limited and this involved designing and developing software applications for performing data analytics and library search on spectral data. Specifically, my role involved collaborative work on a European project to develop a forensic toolbox. The GIFT project includes over 20 collaborate partners and is funded under the Seventh Framework Programme of the EC. I took up the post of Below the Bar Lecturer in the School of Computer Science in August 2016. In 2018, I took over the role as the academic coordinator of the Computer Drop-In Support Centre. In 2020, I began a part-time consultancy role as a Leaving Certificate Computer Science Associate with the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST).

I have carried out research into the classification of high dimensional spectroscopy data using both traditional machine learning algorithms as well as more recent advances in deep learning.I have also carried out research into the development of adaptive non-player characters in computer games using reinforcement learning and developed some Dynamic Difficult Adjustment mechanisms to improve player enjoyment.More recently, I have focused my research on Computer Science Education, in particular, the teaching of computer programming. I am working to develop an adaptive learning platform for teaching programming which reacts to individual user needs and builds up an implicit learning profile to help identify areas for improvement.Other interests include: Use of virtual environments for object detection and drone surveying; serverless computing cloud platform analysis; emerging serverless threats such as Denial of Wallet; face detection and emotion recognition in cartoon characters and 3D animations; using reinforcement learning environments to simulate the control of epidemic spread.