Hi, I'm Mars Buttfield-Addison (@TheMartianLife), a computer scientist and science communicator from lutruwita/Tasmania.

I am currently a part-time PhD Candidate in Computer Engineering at the University of Tasmania and CSIRO, where I work to improve the accuracy, reliability and performance of radio/radar-based satellite and space debris tracking systems. In this capacity, I've worked with several research institutions and private entities to program or adapt instruments for everything from space debris and satellite monitoring, to tracking asteroids, to measuring space weather effects and communicating with planetary spacecraft.

On the side, I do a bunch of other stuff including, but not limited to:

• writing books, such as the 2019 Practical Artificial Intelligence with Swift and the 2022 Practical Simulations for Machine Learning.
• running conferences, such as the annual AU/NZ Apple developer community conference /dev/world and the online conference EveryWorld.
• creating STEM educational materials, such as the Swift Rockets code-along activity for National Science Week, the Resource, Respond, Rescue! Minecraft: Education Edition scenario for the CoRE Learning Foundation, and tutorials for the game narrative framework Yarn Spinner.
• serving on the board of industry bodies for the technology sector, such as the AUC and previously the Australian Computer Society.
• working at the University of Tasmania's School of Information and Communication Technology as a teaching assistant, research assistant, and private tutor. And at the School of Physics as a radio telescope operator and software engineer.
• speaking at conferences all over the world, about topics spanning machine learning, software architecture, big data analysis, game development, space technologies, and more.
• working with STEM outreach programs around Tasmania and beyond, to visit schools and run events and provide resources for children of all ages to engage with science and technology topics.

Much of my work is uncredited or under NDA—meaning the code available here is minimal and primarily comprised of my silly, half-finished hobby projects—but I can usually be found helping out on whatever projects Secret Lab are working on, and I happily accept inquiries or requests for technical assistance via my website themartianlife.com