JULY | Dr. Selasi Kwashie

What is your role in SCS?

I am a research scientist working with the Security Data Science (SecDS) team.

Can you tell us about your research specialty?

My research interests and expertise lie primarily at the intersection of database theory and systems, data mining and machine learning. My work seeks to develop sound theoretic foundations that enable the design of effective and efficient solutions to tackle real-world problems. I was a research fellow at the University of South Australia and collaborated with Data to Decisions CRC on their Integrated Law Enforcement project.

Can you share some of your most notable work?

I developed novel classes of integrity constraints for both relational and graph data. I also designed techniques for automatic knowledge discovery in data, and developed a precise entity linking and resolution system for identifying multiple, differing, and possibly contradicting representations of unique real-world entities in relational and text data.

What are you focusing on right now?

My work studies and proffers new ideas and techniques for addressing diverse cyber security problems using data science and machine learning principles.

What inspires your work?

The thrill of the ‘Eureka’ moment, the joy of discovery, and the fulfillment of impactful solutions are the major driving forces that propel my research work and render all the toil, frustrations, and challenges that often come with research bearable. However, on the day-to-day basis, a cup of good coffee does the trick! And, I find the following quote by Peter Drucker inspiring: ‘Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly or it vanishes’.