Estefania Yap

The University of Melbourne/ASR Defence

Estefania is a Research Engineer with a PhD in Operations Research, having developed black-box optimisation techniques to assist with automatic algorithm selection for complex optimisation applications. 

Estefania is experienced in building real-world optimisation solutions across the overlapping domains of mathematics, optimisation, software engineering and algorithmics. Previously, she has worked within analytics and data science roles, building machine learning models for maximising retention across Retail, Finance and University sectors. 

Estefania was the lead developer of the Battlespace Aspect Design tool, where she designed the optimisation technique and optimisation engine that drives the Battlespace Aspect Design product. She has led projects in improving algorithms for Threat Evaluation and Weapons Assignment (TEWA) allocations for swarms, as well developing a technique for optimising the emplacements of jammers for Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) missions. She was the lead optimisation expert working on radar beam synthesis for advanced phased array radars, as well as the AI integration in automating drug development.