Dr Erica Mealy is driven to inspire the next generation of innovators and professionals. Calling herself a ‘Technology and Design Evangelist’, Dr Mealy is an accomplished speaker, regularly speaking at events and forums, sharing her passion for effective and affective technology design and development. Erica has been writing code for over 20 years and has experience in areas as diverse as sports analysis, train control, safety-critical software, embedded electronics, databases and the web. Erica’s strong industrial experience, mixed with a natural talent for teaching has lead to awards, commendations and a network of alumni and colleagues at leading software development companies across south-east Queensland and the world.
Erica’s research interests fall into the broad theme of applied user-centered design and software development. Current projects relate to interface and systems design for the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, a user-centered design approach to Entrepreneurship on the Sunshine Coast, machine learning, smart cities, wearable technologies, and software engineering support tool design.
Erica is also an exhibited visual artist with collaborative works centred on the intersection of art, science, technology and design which have been exhibited both domestically and internationally.
Professional Memberships
- Australian Computer Society, Women in Technology (ACS WIT)
Awards
- Commendation for Vice-Chancellor and President's Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching 2019
- Google CS4HS grant, 2015
- Digital Careers Australia Small Grants program, 2015
- 2015 Women in Technology Rising Star award finalist
- QUT Vice-Chancellor's Performance award, 2014
Potential Research Projects for HDR and Honours Students
- Managing data for Smart Cities
- Sensor data fusion
- Wearable technology
- Appropriate Automation and Machine Learning
Research areas
- Smart Cities
- Internet of Things
- Software Development Tools
- Wearable Technology
- Computer Science Education
Teaching areas
- Programming
- Computer Science
- Digital Ethics
- Data Structure and Algorithms
- Internet of Things
- User-Centered Design
Program coordinator
Dr Erica Mealy's specialist areas include automation, user design, smart cities and the internet of things, diversity in computer science and ICT, and software development in the fields of sports analysis, safety-critical, embedded control & electronics, databases and the web.
In the news
The government says more people need to use AI. Here’s why that’s wrong
10 SepThe Australian government has released voluntary artificial intelligence (AI) safety standards, alongside a proposals paper calling for greater regulation of the use of the fast-growing technology in high-risk situations.
Corporate race to use AI puts public at risk: UniSC study
26 FebA rush by Australian companies to use generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is escalating the privacy and security risks to the public as well as to staff, customers and stakeholders, according to a UniSC study
A national digital ID scheme is being proposed. An expert weighs the pros and (many more) cons
26 Sep 2023While a national scheme to protect our digital identities is well overdue, getting it wrong could lead to even greater damage, Dr Erica Mealy writes for The Conversation
Google Chrome just rolled out a new way to track you and serve ads. Here’s what you need to know
11 Sep 2023Instead of third-party cookies, Chrome can now tap directly into your browsing history to gather information on advertising “topics”, Dr Erica Mealy writes for The Conversation
Why the behavior of the Bing search chatbot is a serious threat
21 Feb 2023From gaslighting to death threats, generative artificial intelligence that ‘talks’ to users is becoming one of humanity’s biggest threats, according to a leading authority in the AI field