Veronika Megler

Megler was born in 1960, and educated in Melbourne at Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, where she was school valedictorian in science. She began studying science at the University of Melbourne, intending to major in statistics but switching to a computer science major which she found more enjoyable.{{cite news |last1=Mason |first1=Graeme |title='I saw the possibility of what could be done – so I did it': revolutionary video game The Hobbit turns 40 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/sep/22/i-saw-the-possibility-of-what-could-be-done-so-i-did-it-revolutionary-video-game-the-hobbit-turns-40 |access-date=9 February 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=22 September 2022}}{{cite web |title=Veronika Megler |url=https://ourdigitalheritage.org/hostedArchives/playitagain/creators/veronica-megler-2/index.html |website=Play It Again... Remembering 1980's gaming |publisher=Our Digital Heritage |accessdate=13 February 2020}}

Megler became the first employee at video game development studio Beam Software/Melbourne House as a programmer.{{cite web |title=The Hobbit and his Lady |url=https://www.avventuretestuali.com/interviste/megler-eng/ |website=L'avventura è l'avventura |accessdate=13 February 2020}} She recruited Philip Mitchell and the two began working on an illustrated interactive fiction game based on The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, with Megler concentrating on the game's physics system and a measure of autonomy for non-player characters.{{cite news |last1=Sharwood |first1=Simon |title=Author of '80s classic The Hobbit didn't know game was a hit |url=https://www.theregister.com/2012/11/18/hobbit_author_veronika_megler_reminisces/ |access-date=9 February 2024 |work=The Register |date=18 November 2012 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=The Hobbit |url=https://www.acmi.net.au/works/117998--the-hobbit-computer-game-for-bbc-model-b/ |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=9 February 2024 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Stuckey |first1=Helen |title=Melbourne House: The House of Hits 1980s Melbourne and the Early History of Australian Videogame Design |journal=RMIT Design Archives Journal |date=2023 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=47–55 |url=https://www.rmit.edu.au/content/dam/rmit/documents/about/design-archives-journal/rda-journal-28-13.1.pdf |access-date=9 February 2024 |publisher=RMIT University}}{{Cite news |last=Mason |first=Graeme |date=2022-09-22 |title='I saw the possibility of what could be done – so I did it': revolutionary video game The Hobbit turns 40 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/sep/22/i-saw-the-possibility-of-what-could-be-done-so-i-did-it-revolutionary-video-game-the-hobbit-turns-40 |access-date=2024-02-14 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

This game was structured to be used as the basis for other games as an early adaptable game engine. The game was released in 1982 in the UK and Australia.

Megler and Mitchell also developed another Beam game, Penetrator, also released in 1982.{{cite book |last1=Rollings |first1=Andrew |title=The ZX Spectrum Book – 1982 to 199X |isbn=9780977998395 |url=https://issuu.com/mondolfo/docs/zx_spectrum_book}}

Prior to her graduation from the University of Melbourne, Megler resigned from Beam to concentrate on her studies, and Mitchell remained to complete the ZX Spectrum version. Megler worked at IBM as an information technology architect, operating system expert and consultant. In 2009, she left IBM to study for a master's degree and PhD in computer science for scientific big data at Portland State University.

{{As of|February 2024}}, Megler lives in Portland, Oregon and is a principal data scientist at Amazon.com.{{cite web |last1=Stuckey |first1=Helen |title=Interview with Hobbit designer Veronika Megler on Storytelling by Luke C. Jackson |url=https://ourdigitalheritage.org/hostedArchives/playitagain/interview-with-hobbit-designer-veronika-megler-on-storytelling-by-luke-c-jackson/index.html |website=Play It Again... |publisher=Australasian Digital Heritage |accessdate=13 February 2020}}{{Cite web |date=January 26, 2023 |title=Veronika Megler |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronikamegler |access-date=January 26, 2023 |website=LinkedIn.com}} In her interview in MLinProduction in 2020 as part of a series with creators of top machine learning resources, she explains that this recent work focuses on managing larger and higher-impact machine learning projects.{{Cite web |last=Luigi |date=2020-02-14 |title=Top ML Resources: Interview with Veronika Megler, PhD |url=https://mlinproduction.com/top-30-ml-in-production-resources-guide-veronika-megler-interview/ |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=ML in Production |language=en-US}}

• Megler, V.M., Maier, D. (2011). Finding Haystacks with Needles: Ranked Search for Data Using Geospatial and Temporal Characteristics. In: Bayard Cushing, J., French, J., Bowers, S. (eds) Scientific and Statistical Database Management. SSDBM 2011. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6809. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.{{Cite book |last1=Megler |first1=V. M. |last2=Maier |first2=David |date=2011 |editor-last=Bayard Cushing |editor-first=Judith |editor2-last=French |editor2-first=James |editor3-last=Bowers |editor3-first=Shawn |chapter=Finding Haystacks with Needles: Ranked Search for Data Using Geospatial and Temporal Characteristics |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-22351-8_4 |title=Scientific and Statistical Database Management |series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science |language=en |location=Berlin, Heidelberg |publisher=Springer |pages=55–72 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-22351-8_4 |isbn=978-3-642-22351-8|s2cid=11068234 }}
• V. M. Megler and D. Maier, "Data Near Here: Bringing Relevant Data Closer to Scientists," in Computing in Science & Engineering, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 44–53, May–June 2013.{{Cite journal |title=Data Near Here: Bringing Relevant Data Closer to Scientists |date=2013 |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6471980 |access-date=2024-02-11 |doi=10.1109/mcse.2013.38 |last1=Megler |first1=V.M. |last2=Maier |first2=David |journal=Computing in Science & Engineering |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=44–53 |bibcode=2013CSE....15c..44M |s2cid=340955 |url-access=subscription }}
• Veronika Megler, David Banis, Heejun Chang, Spatial analysis of graffiti in San Francisco, Applied Geography, Volume 54, 2014, p 63-73, ISSN 0143-6228.{{Cite journal |last1=Megler |first1=Veronika |last2=Banis |first2=David |last3=Chang |first3=Heejun |date=2014-10-01 |title=Spatial analysis of graffiti in San Francisco |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0143622814001490 |journal=Applied Geography |volume=54 |pages=63–73 |doi=10.1016/j.apgeog.2014.06.031 |bibcode=2014AppGe..54...63M |issn=0143-6228|url-access=subscription }}

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.veronikamegler.com/}}
• {{cite web |last1=Megler |first1=Veronika M. |title=There and Back Again: A Case History of Writing The Hobbit |date=2014 |url=https://www.readkong.com/page/there-and-back-again-a-case-history-of-writing-the-hobbit-5278309}}
• [https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=GaDJK-EAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra Google Scholar listing]

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Category:1960 births

Category:Living people

Category:Women data scientists

Category:Data scientists

Category:Australian video game designers

Category:University of Melbourne alumni

Category:Portland State University alumni

Category:Scientists from Melbourne

Category:People educated at Mac.Robertson Girls' High School

Category:Australian expatriates in the United States

Category:Australian women computer scientists