Bastiaan Quast is a Dutch-Swiss Machine learning researcher. He is the author and lead maintainer of the open-source rnn and transformer deep-learning frameworks in the R programming language, and the datasets.load GUI package, as well as R packages on Global Value Chain decomposition & WIOD and on Regression Discontinuity Design.[1] Quast is a great-great-grandson of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tobias Asser.[2]

Bastiaan Quast
Bastiaan Quast at Stanford
CitizenshipNetherlands
Known forRnn (software)
Scientific career
InstitutionsUnited Nations (ITU)
Doctoral advisorRichard Baldwin, Jean-Louis Arcand
Websitebastiaanquast.com

Early life and education

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Bastiaan Quast graduated from University of Groningen with a bachelor's degree in Economics and bachelor's degree in Theoretical philosophy. He holds a master's degree in Econometrics from the University of St. Gallen He obtained his Ph.D from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies with advisors Richard Baldwin and Jean-Louis Arcand, his work on local languages and internet usage was discussed at the 2017 G20 meeting in Germany.[3][4][5]

Career

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A screenshot of the datasets.load GUI

Quast is an functionary of the United Nations at the International Telecommunication Union, as Secretary of the ITU-WHO Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health and AI for Good.

Bastiaan Quast created the popular machine learning framework rnn in R, which allows native implementations of recurrent neural network architectures, such as LSTM and GRU (>100,000 downloads[6]). While working at UNCTAD, Quast developed the popular package datasets.load, which is part of the top 10% of most downloaded R packages (>100,000[7]). The R packages decompr and wiod have been downloaded >20,000 times.[8][9]

Bibliography

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Kummritz, Victor; Quast, Bastiaan (2017). Global value chains in developing economies. London, United Kingdom: VoxEU.

References

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  1. ^ Quast, Bastiaan (2019-06-12), Regression Discontinuity in R., retrieved 2019-09-19
  2. ^ "Steven Guy Quast". www.dutchjewry.org. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  3. ^ Taylor, Emily (February 16, 2017). "Bridging the Digital Divide: infrastructure skills and women's empowerment" (PDF). G20 Insights.
  4. ^ "Les motifs de la lenteur d'Internet en Afrique | Info Afrique". Info Afrique (in French). 2016-08-30. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  5. ^ Manager, African (2016-08-30). "Internet Society se penche sur l'Afrique". African Manager (in French). Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  6. ^ Quast, Bastiaan (2019-08-30), Recurrent Neural Networks in R., retrieved 2019-09-19
  7. ^ Quast, Bastiaan (2019-03-26), Tools for view datasets in RVisual interface for loading datasets in RStudio from all installed (unloaded) packages.: bquast/datasets.load, retrieved 2019-09-19
  8. ^ Quast, Bastiaan (2019-05-16), GVC decomposition in R., retrieved 2019-09-19
  9. ^ Quast, Bastiaan (2019-09-12), Data sets from the World Input Output database, for the years 1995-2011: bquast/wiod, retrieved 2019-09-19
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