Senior Research Associate · City Futures Research Centre / MapAI · UNSW Sydney
Leading MapAI’s multidisciplinary lab that pairs spatial intelligence, government criteria, and stakeholder insight to prototype trustworthy urban AI interventions.
Biography
Chris Wang is a Senior Research Associate at UNSW Sydney’s City Futures Research Centre, embedded in the MapAI lab. His work blends principled AI, game-theoretic reasoning, and spatial analytics so that government, industry, and communities can deploy smart city systems with trust, accountability, and measurable benefits.
He mentors graduate researchers, advises policy teams, and oversees civic data partnerships spanning urban mobility, housing, and digital twins.
Timeline
Leading MapAI’s multidisciplinary lab that pairs spatial intelligence, government criteria, and stakeholder insight to prototype trustworthy urban AI interventions.
Doctoral research combined mechanism design with machine learning, producing transparent policy automation tested on Australian housing and transport data. Earned the Dean’s Commendation and served as Mace Bearer for the graduation ceremony.
Worked with Prof. Yuan Miao to build knowledge modelling and natural language processing pipelines that supported policy lab experiments and civic language automation.
Delivered geo-spatial analytics, intelligent transport models, and early-stage AI pilots for state agencies, cultural institutions, and urban design practices.
Academic path
Research values
Prioritises historically underserved voices so algorithms amplify choice, not gatekeeping, across every dataset and policy simulation.
Publishes reproducible workflows, open datasets, and explainers so public servants and communities can follow the research journey.
Works shoulder-to-shoulder with planners, technologists, and cultural partners to translate experimental findings into scaled projects.