Sedar is a PhD student at the University of Leeds, department of Geography. He graduated in Computer Science at King’s College London 2018. From a very early stage of his degree, he focused on artificial intelligence planning implementations on drones in a search and rescue domain, and this was his first formal attempt to study artificial intelligence. He participated in summer school at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul working on programming techniques to reduce execution time. During his final year, he concentrated on how argumentation theory with natural language processing can be used to optimise political influence. In the midst of completing his degree, he applied to Professor Alison Heppenstall’s research proposal focusing on data analytics and society, a joint endeavour with the Alan Turing Institute and the Economic and Social Research Council. From 2018 - 2023 he will be working on his PhD at the Alan Turing Institute and Leeds Institute for Data Analytics.

I am an Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering with over two decades of experience in teaching, research, and supervision in data-driven decision making, operations research, and computational modeling. My research integrates Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), Agent-Based Modeling (ABM), and Reinforcement Learning (RL) to support strategic decision systems in sustainability, investment, and industrial operations. My recent work explores human-centric and multi-actor systems, leveraging simulation-based optimization and AI-driven analytics to enhance resilience, efficiency, and sustainability in complex socio-technical environments. I have published extensively in international journals, reviewed over 75 manuscripts, and am an active member of INFORMS and the System Dynamics Society. My long-term goal is to bridge industrial systems modeling with intelligent decision support, aligning academic research with real-world sustainability and innovation challenges.

🔹 Experience
Associate Professor — Industrial Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila (2018 – Present)• Teach graduate and undergraduate courses in Operations Research, Data Mining, Advanced Statistics, System Simulation, and Soft Computing.• Conduct funded research in agent-based and reinforcement learning models for sustainable and data-driven decision systems.• Supervise doctoral students in decision analytics, multi-agent modeling, and MCDM applications.• Reviewer for international journals including Neural Computing and Applications, the Journal of Cleaner Production, Annals of Operations Research, Environment, Development and Sustainability, Energy for Sustainable Development, Scientific Reports, IEEE Access, Cleaner Energy Systems, Utilities Policy, and Sustainable Futures

🔹 Research Interests•
Data-Driven Decision Making• Agent-Based Modeling (ABM)• Reinforcement Learning (RL)• Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA / MAMCA)• Sustainable Supply Chains• System Dynamics; Simulation• E-Health and Humanitarian Systems

🔹 Selected Achievements•
30+ peer-reviewed publications; ~360+ citations• Reviewer for 75+ international journal papers• Completed Coursera Specializations in Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Reinforcement Learning• 20+ years of experience integrating data science with sustainability modeling

Biographical Sketch

(a) Professional Preparation

Brigham Young University Statistics & Computer Science B.S. 1986
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Biostatistics M.S. 1988
North Carolina State University Biomathematics & Entomology Ph.D. 1997

(b) Appointments

Associate Professor 2006-current: Brigham Young University Department of Biology
Assistant Professor 2000-2006: Brigham Young University Department of Integrative Biology
Research Scientist 1997-1999: Agriculture Research Service-USDA Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center.

(c) Publications

i. Five most relevant publications

Ahmadou H. Dicko, Renaud Lancelot, Momar Talla Seck, Laure Guerrini, Baba Sall, Mbargou Low, Marc J.B. Vreysen, Thierry Lefrançois, Fonta Williams, Steven L. Peck, and Jérémy Bouyer. 2014. Using species distribution models to optimize vector control: the tsetse eradication campaign in Senegal. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. 11 (28) : 10149-10154
Peck, S. L. 2014. Perspectives on why digital ecologies matter: Combining population genetics and ecologically informed agent-based models with GIS for managing dipteran livestock pests. Acta Tropica. 138S (2014) S22–S25
Peck, S. L. and Jérémy Bouyer. 2012. Mathematical modeling, spatial complexity, and critical decisions in tsetse control. Journal of Economic Entomology 105(5): 1477—1486.
Peck, S. L. 2012. Networks of habitat patches in tsetse fly control: implications of metapopulation structure on assessing local extinction probabilities. Ecological Modelling 246: 99–102.
Peck, S. L. 2012. Agent-based models as fictive instantiations of ecological processes.” Philosophy & Theory in Biology. Vol. 4.e303 (2012): 12

ii. Five other publications of note

Peck, S. L. 2008. The Hermeneutics of Ecological Simulation. Biology and Philosophy 23:383-402.
K.M. Froerer, S.L. Peck, G.T. McQuate, R.I. Vargas, E.B. Jang, and D.O. McInnis. 2010. Long distance movement of Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Puna, Hawaii: How far can they go? American Entomologist 56(2): 88-94
Peck, S. L. 2004. Simulation as experiment: a philosophical reassessment for biological modeling. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 19 (10): 530 534
Storer N.P., S. L. Peck, F. Gould, J. W. Van Duyn and G. G. Kennedy. 2003 Sensitivity analysis of a spatially-explicit stochastic simulation model of the evolution of resistance in Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to Bt transgenic corn and cotton. Economic Entomology. 96(1): 173-187
Peck, S. L., F. Gould, and S. Ellner. 1999. The spread of resistance in spatially extended systems of transgenic cotton: Implications for the management of Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Economic Entomology 92:1-16.