University of Edinburgh School of Informatics
Encyclopedia
The School of Informatics is an academic unit of the University of Edinburgh
, in Scotland
, responsible for research, teaching, outreach and commercialisation in Informatics
.
It was created in 1998 from the former Department of Artificial Intelligence, the Centre for Cognitive Science and the Department of Computer Science, along with the Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute
and the Human Communication Research Centre. Research in the School of Informatics draws on these component disciplines and much of it is interdisciplinary in nature. The school is especially well known for research in the areas of artificial intelligence
, computational linguistics
, systems biology
, mathematical logic
and theoretical computer science
; but also contributes to many other areas of informatics. The school has a research staff of over 130 individuals, and an academic staff of 75. Current enrollment includes around 250 research students, and 475 taught masters and undergraduate students. The school was ranked 1st in the UK according to the Guardian University Tables 2008, and 2011, as well as being ranked 1st in the 2008 RAE rankings.Informatics and Computer Science]
, the only computer science department in the country to achieve this highest possible rating. In the 2008 RAE
, the School's "Quality Profile" was 35/50/15/0/0, which means that of the over 100 FTE
staff research outputs evaluated, 35% were found "world-leading (4*)" and 50% "internationally excellent (3*)". These figures can be interpreted in a number of ways, but place the School first by volume and tied for second (following Cambridge with 45/45/10/0/0) by percentage of research rated 3* or 4*. The School is generally considered world-leading, standing with the foremost U.S. institutes, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, natural language processing and machine translation, and theoretical computer science.
The School has seven research Institutes:
Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation (IANC)
Centre for Intelligent Systems and their Applications
Institute for Language, Cognition, and Computation (ILCC)
Institute for Computing Systems Architecture (ICSA)
Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour (IPAB)
Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science
(LFCS)
Informatics Life Sciences Institute (ILSI)
Until June 2008, the School was dispersed over five sites: three in the George Square Campus: Appleton Tower, Buccleuch Place, Forrest Hill; and two at King's Buildings
: James Clerk Maxwell Building, and the Darwin Building.
In June and July 2008, the School's research moved into its new home, The Informatics Forum
. This building for interaction designed by Bennetts Associates
, Reaich and Hall and Buro Happold
, now houses some 500 researchers, including staff and graduate students. Construction began in October 2005, and the Forum's completion in July 2008 finally brought the School's researchers together, under one roof, some ten years after its inception.
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, responsible for research, teaching, outreach and commercialisation in Informatics
Informatics (academic field)
Informatics is the science of information, the practice of information processing, and the engineering of information systems. Informatics studies the structure, algorithms, behavior, and interactions of natural and artificial systems that store, process, access and communicate information...
.
It was created in 1998 from the former Department of Artificial Intelligence, the Centre for Cognitive Science and the Department of Computer Science, along with the Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute
Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute
The Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute at the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh is a non-profit technology transfer organisation that promotes the benefits of the application of Artificial Intelligence research to commercial, industrial, and government organisations...
and the Human Communication Research Centre. Research in the School of Informatics draws on these component disciplines and much of it is interdisciplinary in nature. The school is especially well known for research in the areas of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, computational linguistics
Computational linguistics
Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the statistical or rule-based modeling of natural language from a computational perspective....
, systems biology
Systems biology
Systems biology is a term used to describe a number of trends in bioscience research, and a movement which draws on those trends. Proponents describe systems biology as a biology-based inter-disciplinary study field that focuses on complex interactions in biological systems, claiming that it uses...
, mathematical logic
Mathematical logic
Mathematical logic is a subfield of mathematics with close connections to foundations of mathematics, theoretical computer science and philosophical logic. The field includes both the mathematical study of logic and the applications of formal logic to other areas of mathematics...
and theoretical computer science
Theoretical computer science
Theoretical computer science is a division or subset of general computer science and mathematics which focuses on more abstract or mathematical aspects of computing....
; but also contributes to many other areas of informatics. The school has a research staff of over 130 individuals, and an academic staff of 75. Current enrollment includes around 250 research students, and 475 taught masters and undergraduate students. The school was ranked 1st in the UK according to the Guardian University Tables 2008, and 2011, as well as being ranked 1st in the 2008 RAE rankings.Informatics and Computer Science]
Research
The School of Informatics was awarded a 5*A in the UK HEFCE's 2001 RAEResearch Assessment Exercise
The Research Assessment Exercise is an exercise undertaken approximately every 5 years on behalf of the four UK higher education funding councils to evaluate the quality of research undertaken by British higher education institutions...
, the only computer science department in the country to achieve this highest possible rating. In the 2008 RAE
Research Assessment Exercise
The Research Assessment Exercise is an exercise undertaken approximately every 5 years on behalf of the four UK higher education funding councils to evaluate the quality of research undertaken by British higher education institutions...
, the School's "Quality Profile" was 35/50/15/0/0, which means that of the over 100 FTE
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
staff research outputs evaluated, 35% were found "world-leading (4*)" and 50% "internationally excellent (3*)". These figures can be interpreted in a number of ways, but place the School first by volume and tied for second (following Cambridge with 45/45/10/0/0) by percentage of research rated 3* or 4*. The School is generally considered world-leading, standing with the foremost U.S. institutes, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, natural language processing and machine translation, and theoretical computer science.
The School has seven research Institutes:
Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation (IANC)
- Theoretical and empirical study of brain processes and artificial learning systems, drawing on neuroscience, cognitive science, computer science, computational science, mathematics and statistics.
Centre for Intelligent Systems and their Applications
- Basic and applied research and development in knowledge representation and reasoning.
- Through its Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute (AIAI)Artificial Intelligence Applications InstituteThe Artificial Intelligence Applications Institute at the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh is a non-profit technology transfer organisation that promotes the benefits of the application of Artificial Intelligence research to commercial, industrial, and government organisations...
it works with others to deploy the technologies associated with this research.
Institute for Language, Cognition, and Computation (ILCC)
- Research on all aspects of natural language processing, drawing on machine learning, statistical modeling, and computational, psychological, and linguistic theories of communication among humans and between humans and machines using text, speech and other modalities.
Institute for Computing Systems Architecture (ICSA)
- Architecture and engineering of future computing systems: performance and scalability; innovative algorithms, architectures, compilers, languages and protocols.
Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour (IPAB)
- Linking computational action, perception, representation, transformation and generation processes to real or virtual worlds: statistical machine learning, computer vision, mobile and humanoid robotics, motor control, graphics and visualization.
Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science
Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science
The Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science is based in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has an international reputation in theoretical computer science, mathematical logic and category theory.- Current :...
(LFCS)
- Developing and applying foundational understanding of computation and communication: formal models, mathematical theories, and software tools.
Informatics Life Sciences Institute (ILSI)
- Work at the informatics/life sciences interface and will draw together and build on existing work including well-established activities in neuroinformatics, modelling,sensori-motor control and bio-mimetic robotics, together with computational systems biology, synthetic biology and bio-informatics.
Professors
Established and personal Chairs- Stuart Anderson (Dependable Systems)
- Douglas Armstrong (Systems Neurobiology)
- Malcolm Atkinson (e-Science),
- Chris Bishop (Computer ScienceComputer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
), - Alan BundyAlan BundyAlan Bundy, FRSE, FBCS, FAAAI, FECCAI, FAISB, is a professor at the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, known for his contributions to automated reasoning, especially to proof-planning, the use of meta-level reasoning to guide proof search....
(Automated Reasoning), - Peter BunemanPeter BunemanOscar Peter Buneman FRS, FRSE is a British computer scientist who works in the areas of database systems and database theory.Buneman received his PhD in mathematics from the University of Warwick, in 1970. After that he worked briefly at the University of Edinburgh, followed by a professorship of...
FRS (Database SystemsDatabase management systemA database management system is a software package with computer programs that control the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to conveniently develop databases for various applications by database administrators and other specialists. A database is an integrated...
; Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award), - Vincent Danos (Computational Systems Biology),
- Wenfei Fan (Web Data Management),
- Bob Fisher (Computer VisionComputer visionComputer vision is a field that includes methods for acquiring, processing, analysing, and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical or symbolic information, e.g., in the forms of decisions...
), - Michael FourmanMichael FourmanMichael Paul Fourman, FBCS is Professor of Computer Systems at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, UK, and was Head of the School of Informatics from 2001-2009....
(Computer Systems—Software), - Stephen Gilmore (Software Systems Modelling)
- Igor GoryaninIgor GoryaninIgor Goryanin is a systems biologist, who holds a Henrik Kacser Chair in Computational Systems Biology at the University of Edinburgh, and leads the Computational Systems Biology and Bioinformatics group, School of Informatics...
(Systems BiologySystems biologySystems biology is a term used to describe a number of trends in bioscience research, and a movement which draws on those trends. Proponents describe systems biology as a biology-based inter-disciplinary study field that focuses on complex interactions in biological systems, claiming that it uses...
), - Jane HillstonJane HillstonJane Hillston is Professor of Quantitative Modelling and an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow in the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Scotland....
(Quantitative Modelling), - Ewan Klein (Cognitive Systems),
- Leonid Libkin (Foundations of Data ManagementDatabase theoryDatabase theory encapsulates a broad range of topics related to the study and research of the theoretical realm of databases and database management systems....
; Marie Curie Chair), - Johanna MooreJohanna MooreJohanna Doris Moore is a computational linguist and cognitive scientist. Her research Interests include natural language generation, spoken dialogue systems, computational models of discourse, intelligent tutoring and training systems, human-computer interaction, user modeling, and knowledge...
(Artificial Intelligence), - Jon OberlanderJon OberlanderJon Oberlander is Professor of Epistemics at the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh. He received a BA in Philosophy from Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 1983 and a PhD in Cognitive Science from the University of Edinburgh in 1987....
(EpistemicsEpistemicsEpistemics is a term coined in 1969 by Edinburgh University with the foundation of its School of Epistemics.Epistemics is to be distinguished from epistemology in that this is the philosophical theory of knowledge, whereas epistemics signifies the scientific study of knowledge...
), - Michael O'BoyleMichael O'BoyleMichael O'Boyle is a Professor of Computing and Director of the Institute for Computing Systems Architecture at the University of Edinburgh School of Informatics.- External links :*...
(Computer ScienceComputer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
), - Gordon PlotkinGordon PlotkinGordon D. Plotkin, FRS, FRSE is a Scottish computer scientist.Gordon Plotkin is best-known for his introduction of structural operational semantics and his work on denotational semantics. In particular, his notes on A Structural Approach to Operational Semantics of 1981 were very influential...
FRS (Computation Theory; Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award), - Steve Renals (Speech Technology),
- Don SannellaDon SannellaDonald T. Sannella is Professor of Computer Science in the Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. His research interests include: algebraic specification and formal software development, correctness of modular systems, types and...
(Computer ScienceComputer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
), - Mark SteedmanMark SteedmanMark Jerome Steedman, FBA, FRSE is a computational linguist and cognitive scientist.Steedman graduated from the University of Sussex in 1968, with a B.Sc in Experimental Psychology, and from the University of Edinburgh in 1973, with a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence Mark Jerome Steedman, FBA,...
FBA (Cognitive Science), - Keith StenningKeith StenningKeith Stenning is a cognitive scientist and Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, UK. He received a Bachelor's degree in philosophy and psychology at the University of Oxford in 1969, and a PhD in discourse semantics as a basis for a theory of memory in New York, 1975,...
(Human Communications), - Colin Stirling (Computation Theory),
- Austin TateAustin TateProfessor Austin Tate FRSE FBCS FAAAI is Director of AIAI in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. He holds the Chair in Knowledge-based systems at the University of Edinburgh...
(Knowledge-Based Systems), - Nigel Topham (Computer Systems),
- Henry Thompson (Web Informatics)
- Phil Wadler (Theoretical Computer Science; Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit AwardRoyal Society Wolfson Research Merit AwardThe Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award is an award to outstanding scientists holding posts at UK universities. It is administered by the Royal Society and jointly funded by the Wolfson Foundation and the UK Office of Science and Technology, this scheme aims to give universities additional...
), - Bonnie Webber (Intelligent Systems),
- Chris Williams (Machine Learning),
- David Willshaw (Computational Neuroscience)
Notable alumni
Previous staff and students, including alumni of the departmental forebears of the school:- Samson AbramskySamson AbramskySamson D. Abramsky FRS, FRSE is a computer scientist who currently holds the Christopher Strachey Professorship at Oxford University Computing Laboratory. He is well known for playing a leading role in the development of game semantics...
FRS, - Andrew BlakeAndrew Blake (scientist)Andrew Blake, FREng, FRS, is a British scientist, Managing Director of Microsoft Research Cambridge, Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Edinburgh, and a leading researcher in computer vision.-Career:...
FRS, - Bob BoyerRobert S. BoyerRobert Stephen Boyer, aka Bob Boyer, is a retired professor of computer science, mathematics, and philosophy at The University of Texas at Austin. He and J Strother Moore invented the Boyer–Moore string search algorithm, a particularly efficient string searching algorithm, in 1977. He and Moore...
, - Luca CardelliLuca CardelliLuca Cardelli is an Italian computer scientist who is currently an Assistant Director at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK. Cardelli is well-known for his research in type theory and operational semantics. Among other contributions he implemented the first compiler for the functional programming...
FRS, - Ian Clarke,
- Doug CuttingDoug CuttingDouglass Read Cutting is an advocate and creator of open-source search technology. He originated Lucene and, with Mike Cafarella, Nutch, both open-source search technology projects which are now managed through the Apache Software Foundation. He holds a bachelor's degree from Stanford University....
, - Paul DourishPaul DourishPaul Dourish is a computer scientist best known for his work at the intersection of computer science and social science. He is a professor at the University of California, Irvine, where he joined the faculty in 2000.- Life and Work :...
, - Andrew Fitzgibbon,
- Michael GordonMichael J. C. GordonMichael John Caldwell Gordon, British computer scientist .Mike Gordon led the development of the HOL theorem prover. The HOL system is an environment for interactive theorem proving in a higher-order logic. Its most outstanding feature is its high degree of programmability through the meta-language...
FRS, - Richard GregoryRichard GregoryRichard Langton Gregory, CBE, MA, D.Sc., FRSE, FRS was a British psychologist and Emeritus Professor of Neuropsychology at the University of Bristol.-Life and career:...
FRS, - Martin Grohe (now Professor at Humboldt University of BerlinHumboldt University of BerlinThe Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
), - Pat HayesPatrick J. HayesPatrick John Hayes or Pat Hayes is a British computer scientist who lives and works in the United States. , he is a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola, Florida. He received a B.A. in Mathematics from University of Cambridge and a Ph.D...
, - Mark JerrumMark JerrumMark Richard Jerrum is a British computer scientist and computational theorist.Jerrum received his Ph.D. in computer science in 1981 from University of Edinburgh under the supervision of Leslie Valiant...
(now professor at the University of LondonUniversity of London-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
), - Christopher Longuet-Higgins FRS,
- Geoffrey HintonGeoffrey HintonGeoffrey Hinton is a British born informatician most noted for his work on the mathematics and applications of neural networks, and their relationship to information theory.-Career:...
FRS, - Christoph Koch (now professor at Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
), - Robert KowalskiRobert KowalskiRobert "Bob" Anthony Kowalski is a British logician and computer scientist, who has spent most of his career in the United Kingdom....
, - Stephan Kreutzer (now professor at Oxford University),
- Bernard Meltzer,
- Donald MichieDonald MichieDonald Michie was a British researcher in artificial intelligence. During World War II, Michie worked for the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, contributing to the effort to solve "Tunny," a German teleprinter cipher.-Early life and career:Michie was born in Rangoon, Burma...
, - Robin MilnerRobin MilnerArthur John Robin Gorell Milner FRS FRSE was a prominent British computer scientist.-Life, education and career:...
FRS (Turing awardTuring AwardThe Turing Award, in full The ACM A.M. Turing Award, is an annual award given by the Association for Computing Machinery to "an individual selected for contributions of a technical nature made to the computing community. The contributions should be of lasting and major technical importance to the...
winner), - J Strother MooreJ Strother MooreJ Strother Moore is a computer scientist, and he is a co-developer of the Boyer–Moore string search algorithm and the Boyer–Moore automated theorem prover, Nqthm. An example of the workings of the Boyer–Moore string search algorithm is given...
, - Timothy O'SheaTimothy O'SheaSir Timothy Michael Martin O'Shea, FRSE is the current Vice-Chancellor and Principal of The University of Edinburgh.-Biography:...
, - Barry RichardsBarry RichardsBarry Anderson Richards is a former South African batsman. A right-handed "talent of such enormous stature", Richards is considered one of South Africa's most successful cricketers. He was able to play only four Test matches - all against Australia - before South Africa's exclusion from the...
, - Nicole Schweikardt (now professor at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main),
- Alistair SinclairAlistair SinclairAlistair Sinclair is a British computer scientist and computational theorist.Sinclair received his B.A. in Mathematics from St. John’s College, Cambridge in 1979, and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Edinburgh in 1988 under the supervision of Mark Jerrum...
(now professor at University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
), - Aaron SlomanAaron SlomanAaron Sloman is a philosopher and researcher on artificial intelligence and cognitive science. He is the author of several papers on philosophy, epistemology and artificial intelligence...
, - Leslie ValiantLeslie ValiantLeslie Gabriel Valiant is a British computer scientist and computational theorist.He was educated at King's College, Cambridge, Imperial College London, and University of Warwick where he received his Ph.D. in computer science in 1974. He started teaching at Harvard University in 1982 and is...
, - Li WeiLi Wei (scientist)Li Wei is a computer professional and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2002, he became the president of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.-Biography:...
Accommodation
The Edinburgh Cowgate fire of December 2002 destroyed a number of buildings, including 80 South Bridge, which housed around one third of the school and its renowned AI library. Space was quickly made available in the University's Appleton Tower as a replacement.Until June 2008, the School was dispersed over five sites: three in the George Square Campus: Appleton Tower, Buccleuch Place, Forrest Hill; and two at King's Buildings
King's Buildings
The King's Buildings are a campus of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and contains most of the schools within the College of Science and Engineering, excepting only part of the School of Informatics and the Institute of Geography, which are located at the central George Square campus...
: James Clerk Maxwell Building, and the Darwin Building.
In June and July 2008, the School's research moved into its new home, The Informatics Forum
Informatics Forum
The Informatics Forum is a major new building on the Central Area campus of the University of Edinburgh. Completed in 2008, it houses the research institutes of the University's School of Informatics.- Design :...
. This building for interaction designed by Bennetts Associates
Bennetts Associates
Bennetts Associates is one of the UK’s leading firms of architects, and has won more than 100 awards since its foundation in 1987.In particular, Bennetts Associates is recognised for its expertise in sustainability through innovative projects such as the Wessex Water Operations Centre in Bath,...
, Reaich and Hall and Buro Happold
Buro Happold
Buro Happold is a professional services firm providing engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of buildings, infrastructure and the environment, with its head office in Bath, Somerset...
, now houses some 500 researchers, including staff and graduate students. Construction began in October 2005, and the Forum's completion in July 2008 finally brought the School's researchers together, under one roof, some ten years after its inception.