
A role model for academic excellence.
Always approachable and easy to talk to.
Always goes the extra mile for students.
Encourages open-minded and thoughtful discussions.
Makes every class a memorable experience.
Associate Professor David McMeekin serves in the School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences within the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. He earned his PhD in Software Engineering from Curtin University, with his doctoral research investigating the human aspects of software development, particularly how software developers think, reason, and make decisions during the coding process. Throughout his academic career at Curtin, McMeekin has held positions as a senior lecturer and progressed to associate professor, contributing significantly to teaching and research in computing disciplines. His pedagogical innovations include coordinating the MOOC 'Build your first app' in 2019, facilitating workshops such as 'Designing Better Assessments with AI' and 'Copilot for Teaching,' and developing training on AI integration in education.
McMeekin's research specializations encompass software engineering, empirical software engineering, semantic web technologies, spatial information systems, ontology development, and semantic services, with applications in digital humanities, cultural heritage preservation, accessibility for vision-impaired individuals, and geospatial data management. Key publications include 'Improving Underwater Photogrammetric 3D Reconstruction Processing of Shipwreck Sites' (2024), 'Outside Inn: Exploring the Heritage of a Historic Hotel through 360-Panoramas' (2023), 'Exploring Historical Australian Expeditions with Time-Layered Cultural Maps' (2023, ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information), 'The Influence of Collaborative and Multi-Modal Mixed Reality: Cultural Learning in Virtual Heritage' (2021), 'A Web GIS-Based Integration of 3D Digital Models with Linked Open Data for Cultural Heritage Exploration' (2021), and 'Route planning methods in indoor navigation tools for vision impaired persons: a systematic review' (2021, Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology). His work has garnered over 630 citations, demonstrating impact in areas like automatic geospatial data conflation, public transport planning for autism spectrum users, and virtual heritage experiences. McMeekin has earned accolades for teaching excellence, including the 2025 Curtin University Excellence in Teaching Award winner for the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the 2023 Curtin Global Award for an outstanding project enhancing student experience. He has also contributed to collaborative projects such as the Curtin Institute for Computation and evaluations of technology in underwater cultural heritage exhibits.
