About
Postdoctoral Researcher at Maastricht University's Department of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering (DKE).

Research Interests
My research interests centre predominantly around the use of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science techniques applied to games. This includes research that uses AI techniques to help play, create and analyse games; but also how we can utilise games as a testbed for developing solutions to real-world problems.
I am currently working as the primary data scientist for the Digital Ludeme Project, which aims to improve our understanding of traditional games using modern AI techniques. This project can be summarised as a computational study of different games throughout recorded history, hoping to chart their historical evolution and explore their role in the development of human culture.
My PhD research focussed on implementing various AI techniques for physics-based video games and simulations. This involved developing intelligent agents that can reason and interact within a physical environment, as well as generating content that satisfies the physical limitations of such environments.
I have also conducted research into many other fields of AI, including topics such as procedural content generation, data mining, general AI, portfolio agents, computational complexity and computer vision.
Resume
A printable version of my Resume can be viewed here.
Summary
Matthew Stephenson
Postdoctoral Researcher at Maastricht University's Department of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering, with 6+ years of experience researching and teaching AI.
- Room 2.014, Paul-Henri Spaaklaan 1, Maastricht, the Netherlands
- matthew.stephenson@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Work Experience
Postdoctoral Researcher
2019 - Present
Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
- Primary data scientist for the Digital Ludeme Project.
- Utilised state-of-the-art data science techniques to profile and compare traditional games throughout history.
- Responsible for managing and integrating multiple large-scale computational and historical datasets.
- Assisted with the research and development of new general AI techniques.
- Secured additional funding through secondary grants.
External Consultant
2020 - Present
Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Grant co-author and consultant for project on Science of Artificial Intelligence and Learning for Open-world Novelty.
Research Scientist
2015 - 2016
Human Interface Technology Laboratory, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Part-time researcher and developer for the company QuiverVision.
Teaching
Lecturer
2019 - Present
Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
- Guest lecturer for Intelligent Search & Games (KEN4123).
- Invited speaker on Open Science Data Principles for FAIR lecture series.
- Supervised multiple Master's and Bachelor's student theses.
- Presented at over a dozen international conferences and symposiums.
- Organised several tutorials, workshops and competitions.
Tutor
2014 - 2015
University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Tutor for the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
2016 - 2019
Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Generation and Analysis of Content for Physics-Based Video Games.
First Class Honours Degree; Computer Science
2012 - 2015
University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Novel Methods for Reflective Symmetry Detection in Scanned 3D Models.
Projects
Published software can be found on GitHub.
Publications
Publications can also be viewed on Google Scholar or ResearchGate.
Contact
Email:
matthew.stephenson@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Address:
Room 2.014
Paul-Henri Spaaklaan 1
Department of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering
Maastricht University
Maastricht, 6229 EN
Limburg, the Netherlands