MARK LIU

Dr. Mark Liu is a tenured finance professor and the (founding) director of the Master of Science in Finance program at the University of Kentucky. He is the author of two books: Make Python Talk (No Starch Press, 2021) and Machine Learning, Animated (CRC Press, 2023). Mark has more than 20 years of coding experience. He obtained his PhD in finance from Boston College. Mark has published his research in top finance journals such as the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and the Journal of Corporate Finance.

books by MARK LIU

Build a Text-to-Image Generator (from Scratch)

  • MEAP began April 2025
  • Publication in Early 2026 (estimated)
  • ISBN 9781633435421
  • 350 pages (estimated)
  • printed in black & white

Build a Text-to-Image Generator (from Scratch) guides you through creating AI models that can generate amazing images from simple text prompts. You’ll explore two distinct methods, learning how transformers turn images into sequences of patches, and how diffusion models refine noise into coherent images. Author Mark Liu explains each stage with clear text, diagrams, and examples. You’ll develop models that can classify images, automatically add image captions, reconstruct images, and deliver high-resolution content. By the time you’re done, you’ll have a deep understanding of how image generation AI works—and the satisfaction of building your text-to-image models!

Learn Generative AI with PyTorch

  • October 2024
  • ISBN 9781633436466
  • 432 pages
  • printed in black & white

Learn Generative AI with PyTorch introduces the underlying mechanics of generative AI by helping you build your own working AI models. You’ll begin by creating simple images using a GAN, and then progress to writing a language translation transformer line-by-line. As you work through the fun and fascinating projects, you’ll train models to create anime images, write like Hemingway, make music like Mozart, and more. You just need Python and a few machine learning basics to get started. You’ll learn the rest as you go!