Rate My Professor Josh Voorkamp

Joshua Stewart Voorkamp earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science, followed by a Master of Science in Mathematics from the University of Canterbury, where his 2009 thesis 'Rekernelisation Algorithms in Hybrid Phylogenies' developed computational approaches to hybrid phylogenetic networks. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Otago in 2014. His doctoral thesis, 'Untangling Evolution,' supervised by Mike Hendy, Barbara Holland, and David Bryant, presented algorithms for maximal acyclic agreement forests and methods to resolve reticulate evolution from gene trees, advancing the field of computational phylogenetics.

Voorkamp's research output includes the peer-reviewed paper 'Maximal Acyclic Agreement Forests' published in the Journal of Computational Biology (2014, volume 21, issue 10, pages 723-731), affiliated with the University of Otago's Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and 'Quantifying Hybridization in Realistic Time' in the same journal (2011, volume 18, issue 10, pages 1305-1318). These works address key challenges in reconstructing phylogenetic networks involving hybridization and reticulation events. Currently, he serves as an Engineer in Research and Teaching Solutions within the Information Technology Services Division at the University of Otago in Dunedin, supporting IT infrastructure for academic research and teaching. He has instructed Software Carpentry workshops at the University of Otago, including the event on 15-16 November 2023 alongside Murray Cadzow and David Hood, and participates in the AUNZ Carpentries community. His PhD completion was noted in the New Zealand Mathematical Society Newsletter (December 2014).