Rate My Professor Mahakim Newton

M A Hakim Newton, known professionally as Mahakim Newton, is a Senior Lecturer in Data Science within the School of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Newcastle, Australia, which falls under the College of Engineering, Science and Environment. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer and Information Sciences from the University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom, B.Sc.Engg. and M.Sc.Engg. degrees from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), and a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education from Griffith University. Newton's career trajectory includes his current role as Senior Lecturer since January 2026, Lecturer and Research Fellow at Griffith University from 2013 to March 2022, Research Engineer in Search and Optimisation at National ICT Australia (NICTA) from 2009 to 2012, Assistant Professor in Computer Science and Engineering at BUET from 2002 to 2009, and Lecturer at BUET from 2000 to 2003. He also holds an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow position at Griffith University's Institute for Integrated and Intelligent Systems.

Newton's academic interests center on artificial intelligence, intelligent search, machine learning, data science, bioinformatics, and computer education research, with expertise spanning big data analytics, computational biology, deep learning, explainable algorithms, genomics, health informatics, and optimization. His contributions have garnered over 1,359 citations according to Google Scholar. Notable publications include 'Harnessing angular geometry in deep learning for protein–ligand binding affinity prediction' (2026, Computers in Biology and Medicine), 'Efficient drug–target affinity prediction via interaction features and parallel CNN–BiLSTM with attention' (2026), 'CDTA: Consistency-based deep learning method for drug-target affinity prediction using sequential features from protein language model' (2026), 'Artificial intelligence for template-free protein structure prediction: a comprehensive review' (2023, Briefings in Bioinformatics), 'Constraint Guided Beta-Sheet Refinement for Protein Structure Prediction' (2022), and 'A stacked meta-ensemble for protein inter-residue distance prediction' (2022). He coordinates programs such as the Bachelor of Applied Data Science and teaches courses including COMP6230 Algorithms, COMP6900 Computing Project, and STAT3800 Deterministic and Stochastic Optimisation.