Rate My Professor Joe Ryan

Joe Ryan, Honorary Senior Lecturer in the School of Computer and Information Sciences (Computer Science and Software Engineering) at the University of Newcastle's College of Engineering, Science and Environment, earned his PhD from the University of Newcastle and a Bachelor of Mathematics with Honours from the University of Wollongong. He commenced his academic career lecturing at the University of New England in 1990, transitioning to the University of Newcastle in 1992. Between 2004 and 2008, he served at the University of Ballarat, returning to Newcastle thereafter. At Newcastle, he has lectured across Schools of Mathematics, IT, Computer Science, and Business, currently coordinating courses such as COMP1050/COMP6050 Internet Communications, SENG3300/SENG6300 User Interface Design, SENG2130/SENG6350 Software Development, COMP3320/COMP6370 Computer Graphics, GENG1803 Introduction to Engineering Practice, SENG2050 Web Engineering, COMP3260/COMP6360 Data Security, and COMP4240 Honours Level Courses at the Callaghan campus, as well as at Ourimbah and PSB Singapore. Internationally, he lectured at CIMPA-UNESCO Schools in Indonesia (2009), Laos (2014), and Cuba (2016). Administratively, he contributed to the Faculty Marketing Committee and University Human Research Ethics Committee for four years each since 2008, and has been School Academic Conduct Officer since 2012.

Ryan's research centers on graph and network theory. His interests span graph labeling—including magic, antimagic, graceful, harmonious, cordial, felicitous, summable (sum, integral sum, mod sum, integral mod sum, sum*), total irregular, and reflexive irregular labelings—and extremal graphs optimizing degree, diameter, girth using voltage assignments, matrix, and repeat analysis. Further areas include Hamiltonicity, Ramsey theory, algorithms, subgraph properties (forbidden/mandatory), distance properties, and combinatorics of finite sets, with applications like the Train Marshalling Problem. Key publications include the comprehensive book Magic and Antimagic Graphs (2019, co-authored with Martin Bača, Mirka Miller, and Andrea Semaničová-Feňovčíková), detailing various labeling attributes. Highly cited papers feature On irregular total labellings (2007), Cayley graphs as classifiers for data mining: The influence of asymmetries (2009), and The train marshalling problem (2000). He has authored over 100 journal and refereed conference papers, contributing significantly to extremal structures and network topologies.