I am
- an independent data scientist and strategist, with clients spanning politics, advocacy, media, academia and business.
- one of Australia’s most accomplished and highly cited social scientists, with research and teaching spanning political science and statistics.
- a political and foreign policy analyst, in high demand in Australian television media, both on-camera and behind the scenes.
Born and raised in Australia, I moved to the US for doctoral studies at the University of Rochester and Princeton University, before two decades of academic appointments at the University of Chicago and Stanford University. I returned to Australia in 2015, becoming CEO and Professor of Political Science at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney (2016-2022) where I am now an Honorary Professor. I am an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and the Society for Political Methodology.
My consulting clients and academic partners value my technical expertise in
- survey research
- experimental design and analysis
- machine learning and data visualization blended with my experience as a political scientist, communicator and leader of major research projects.
Solutions I provide include:
Informing strategy: identifying targets of opportunity and vulnerabilities in political and commercial settings, optimal messaging and framing.
Measuring voter/consumer/customer sentiment, combining information from disparate sources for best-in-class projections across small geographic areas; offering tactical, decision-support for election, advocacy or marketing campaigns.
Helping clients bring data into their decision-making; advising on hiring, IT, and data collection, curation and dissemination across the enterprise.
Bespoke data analysis, modelling, simulation and forecasting.
Expert witness reporting and testimony.
Training and mentoring in data science, machine learning, and Bayesian statistics.
Education and academic appointments
- Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science, University of Rochester (1995)
- Visiting PhD Student, Princeton University, 1991-1994.
- Assistant Professor, University of Chicago 1994-1996.
- Research Fellow, Australian National University, 1996-97.
- Professor, Stanford University, 1997-2016, Department of Political Science and, by courtesy, Department of Statistics.
- Chief Executive Officer and Professor of Political Science, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney, 2016-2022.
- Honorary Professor, University of Sydney, 2022-present.
My complete