Research in the School of Informatics

INTRODUCTION

Research in the School of Informatics takes a prime position in the life of the school, the overwhelming majority of academic staff having contracts that include research. There is a strong spirit of innovation in the school due to the long experience of leading-edge research in both core computer science and in collaborative interdisciplinary work at the boundaries between computing and application areas that are also dynamic research fields within the University.

We currently have approximately 200 research students working in various disciplines throughout the School.

"There is a strong spirit of innovation"

Notable strengths include computer/mobile networks, image recognition, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, computer graphics/games, data mining, new/digital media and studies of the Sun.

Emergent Computing Group

Head of Research Centre Prof Apostol Vourdas

• IQIS (Intelligent and Quantum Information Systems)
• MOSAIC (Modelling, Optimisation, Scheduling and Intelligent Control)
• Mathematics

Digital Media Group

Head of Research Centre Prof Jianmin Jiang

• Digital Media and Systems Research Institute
• Digital Imaging
• Visual Computing
• Media Analysis Aspects (see Communications Cultural and Media Studies below)

Networks and Communications Group

Head of Research Centre Prof Mike Woodward

• Networks and Performance Engineering
• Mobile Computing, Networks and Security
• Telecommunications and Electrodynamics* (Mobile and Satellite Communications Research Centre and the Space Science Group)
• Communications Studies (see Communications Cultural and Media Studies below)
  

*A new centre is now operational on the top floor of the Horton Building (Horton D5). This is a joint initiative between the School of Informatics and the School of Engineering Design and Technology and is a £550K project supported by HEFCE SRIF funding.

Communications, Cultural and Media Studies Group

• Culture and Technology
• European Media and Film

Learning and Teaching Research Group

Head of Research Centre Dr Apurba Kundu

• Promoting pedagogic research in Informatics.

The School, working with the telecommunications specialists in the School of Engineering, achieved a Grade 4 score at the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and the level of research income placed us at the top of this group, i.e. just under Grade 5 (Grade 4 equates to attainable levels of national excellence in virtually all of the research activity submitted, with some evidence of international excellence; Grade 5 equates to attainable levels of international excellence in up to half of the research activity submitted and to attainable levels of national excellence in virtually all of the remainder).

The school has extensive national and international collaborations, having participated in European projects under all of the Framework programmes, and this continues. There are currently large European collaborative projects in the areas of image manipulation, digital media and network performance engineering.

There is a healthy and growing programme of collaborative work with industry, much of it research based. This is managed through the dedicated Informatics Innovation Unit (IIU), see 'Knowledge Transfer' which has also generated its own funding and is notable for housing a state-of-the-art motion capture system. In particular, there is currently a growing programme of collaborative work with the Microsoft Corporation, linking the IIU and several of the research groups.

Full-time support is offered to all research active staff and students by the Research Administrator and 10 specialist staff in Technical Support.