Work with thought leaders and academic experts from University of Western Australia

Dr. Marc Portus is a highly skilled and experienced sports science professional with over 20 years of experience in the field. He holds an Executive MBA in Strategy & International Leadership, a PhD in Cricket fast bowling biomechanics, and a Bachelor of Human Movement Studies (Honours) in Biomechanics & Exercise Physiology. Dr. Portus is a specialist in the field of cricket biomechanics, with a particular focus on bowler performance, injury prevention, and ball speed. He has worked with top-level athletes and teams, including Cricket Australia, the Australian Institute of Sport, and Papua New Guinea Rugby League. Dr. Portus is also the founder of Pace Doctor, a company that provides biomechanical analysis and training programs for fast bowlers. With his extensive education and experience, he is a leading authority on sports performance and strategy.

**Research Expertise** Computer architecture, high-performance parallel processing, computer systems performance analysis, approximate computing, computing with emerging technologies, and storage systems. **Biographical summary** David J. Lilja received a Ph.D. and an M.S., both in Electrical Engineering, from the [University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,](http://www.uiuc.edu/) and a B.S. in Computer Engineering from [Iowa State University](http://www.iastate.edu/) in Ames. He is Professor Emeritus of [Electrical and Computer Engineering](http://www.ee.umn.edu/) at the [University of Minnesota](http://www.umn.edu/) in Minneapolis. He previously served as a member of the graduate faculties in [Computer Science](http://www.cs.umn.edu/), [Scientific Computation](http://www.scicomp.umn.edu/), and [Data Science](http://datascience.umn.edu//).  He served ten years as the head of the ECE department at the University of Minnesota, worked as a research assistant at the Center for Supercomputing Research and Development at the [University of Illinois,](http://www.uiuc.edu/) and as a development engineer at [Tandem Computers Incorporated](http://www.tandem.com/) in Cupertino, California.  He received a [Fulbright](http://www.fulbright.org/) Senior Scholar Award to visit the University of Western Australia and was a visiting Professor at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He has chaired and served on the program committees of numerous conferences.  He was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for contributions to the statistical analysis of computer performance. He also is a registered Professional Engineer.

A/Prof Kane Middleton is a highly experienced and respected academic in the field of biomechanics. He completed his PhD in Biomechanics in 2012 and has since held various academic and research positions at top universities in Australia. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at La Trobe University and has previously worked as an Associate Research Fellow at The University of Wollongong and a Research Associate at The University of Western Australia. In addition to his academic career, A/Prof Middleton has also worked as a Human Performance Scientist at Defence Science and Technology Group and a Consultant Biomechanist with the Boston Red Sox. His research focuses on understanding human movement and how it can be optimized for various purposes, such as sports performance and injury prevention. A/Prof Middleton is highly regarded for his expertise in biomechanics and has worked extensively with industry partners, including: Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, David Caple and Associates, Defence Science and Technology Group, Defence Science Institute, data61/CSIRO, the Victorian Institute of Sport, and the Australian Institute of Sport. He is also actively involved in mentoring and supervising graduate students, and has published >70 articles in top peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Shin Mukai, PhD is a highly accomplished chemical biologist with over 20 years of experience in the field. He received his Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Kyoto University, followed by a Master's degree and PhD in Bio-Organic Chemistry from Kyoto University and the University of Western Australia, respectively. After completing his education, Dr. Mukai worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Keio University School of Medicine and Brigham and Women's Hospital / Harvard Medical School. During this time, he conducted groundbreaking research in the areas of drug discovery and development, focusing on novel treatments for various diseases. In 2022, Dr. Mukai joined Sanofi as a Scientist III, where he continued his research in drug discovery and development. He opened a new avenue for biology in human B-cells, eosinophills, neutrophils and mast cells, making significant contributions to the field. In 2023, Dr. Mukai co-founded New Wind Therapeutics L3C, a pharmaceutical company that focuses on discovering and developing new small-molecule drugs for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. As the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer, he oversees the company's research and development efforts, utilizing his extensive knowledge and expertise in organic/medicinal chemistry, biology and immunology. Dr. Mukai has published numerous research papers in top scientific journals and has received several awards and honors for his work. He is highly respected in the scientific community and continues to make significant contributions to the field of chemical biology.