The Defence Innovation Network is delighted to announce the appointment of Associate Professor Marian-Andrei Rizoiu as its new Director.
Dr Rizoiu leads the Behavioural Data Science Lab at the University of Technology Sydney, where his interdisciplinary research crosses computer and social sciences, blending psycholinguistics, digital communication and stochastic modelling to understand human attention dynamics in the online environment, the emergence of influence and opinion polarization.
A recipient of the Excellence Award and Academic of the Year at the 2023 Australian Defence Industry Awards and a two-time finalist of the prestigious Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Outstanding Science in Safeguarding Australia (2024, 2025), Dr Rizoiu currently leads $11.8 million in Commonwealth-funded research to detect and model the spread of mis- and disinformation and its weaponized counterparts—information and influence operations. His work has been widely recognised in leading international journals and media. Beyond academia, he contributes his expertise to public policy, including the NSW Government’s Defamation Law Reform and the Australian Senate inquiry into media diversity.
The DIN looks forward to his leadership in driving innovative, interdisciplinary research that supports Australia’s defence capability and national resilience.
