Computer Science News
Professor Graham R Nudd - (1940 - 2025)
Graham Nudd joined the department in 1984 prior being employed at the Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, CA. He was Chairman of the department continuously until 2005 and he also led the High Performance Systems Group in our department. He was instrumental in persuading the University to create a purpose-designed building for Computer Science, which led to the establishment of the current DCS building.
Graham founded the High Performance Systems Group (HPSG) in 1984. Under his leadership, the group developed a ground-breaking performance modelling toolset called PACE, designed to predict the performance of parallel applications on parallel and distributed systems. The paper documenting this toolset, published in 2000, has attracted many citations. This toolset and the methodology it introduced became the foundation of much of this group’s subsequent work. The group's research has received funding from prestigious organizations, including EPSRC, the DTI, the MOD, the EU Research Programme, the Royal Society, DARPA, the US Navy, IBM, and NASA.
Graham held weekly group meetings in his office, CS1.07. It was a large research group, with nearly 20 members, all gathered around the office table to share updates on their research progress. Graham had an exceptional ability to foster open discussion, skilfully encouraging each of us to present our ideas while making us feel valued and confident. He would jump in with thoughtful follow-up questions, insightful feedback, and constructive comments, always delivered with kindness, patience, and a genuine interest in our work. His warm smile and engaging demeanour made these meetings both productive and enjoyable. I personally had the privilege of having Graham review the first paper I wrote during my PhD studies. He provided detailed and thoughtful feedback, which he discussed with me in person. I vividly remember the moments he talked me through his handwritten comments on the printed paper, which is an experience I will always cherish.
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