An EPSRC Robust and Reliable Quantum Computing Grant will be awarded to Anuj Dawar (Cambridge), Tom Gur (Warwick), Tom Melham (Oxford), and Sergii Strelchuk (Cambridge). The project sets out to explore the role of symmetry and structure in quantum computation, with applications to classical verification and simulation of quantum computation.

In addition, the project aims to strengthen and create new connections and collaborations between Cambridge, Oxford, and Warwick in the field of Quantum Computing (building on existing initiatives such as the Cambridge-Warwick Quantum Colloquium) and establish new partnerships with Warwick Quantum.

Dr. Gihan Mudalige at the University of Warwick’s Department of Computer Science have been awarded an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) ExCALIBUR research grant as part of a consortium of researchers including the Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC), universities of Warwick, Newcastle, Cambridge, Southampton and led by Imperial College London.

This 3 year, £2.6M project brings together communities from the UK Turbulence Consortium (UKTC) and the UK Consortium on Turbulent Reacting Flows (UKCRF) to ensure a smooth transition to exascale computing, with the aim to develop transformative techniques for advancing their production simulation software ecosystems dedicated to the study of turbulent flows. It is part of the ExCALIBUR (Exascale Computing ALgorithms and Infrastructures Benefiting UK Research) programme, aimed at delivering the next generation of high-performance simulation software for the highest-priority fields in UK research.

We are delighted to report that Dr Ramanujan Sridharan (PI) from the Theory and Foundations (FoCS) research theme at the Department of Computer Science and Professor Graham Cormode (Co-I, affiliated with FoCS) have been awarded an EPSRC Standard Research Grant, "New Horizons in Multivariate Preprocessing (MULTIPROCESS)".

This 4-year £540K project aims to advance the theory of preprocessing by designing novel multivariate preprocessing algorithms and extending their scope to high-impact big data paradigms such as streaming algorithms.

We are delighted to announce that Dr Long Tran-Thanh has been awarded funding and support from Google’s AI for Social Good program.

The program focusses on using AI to address some of the world’s biggest societal challenges. Dr. Tran-Thanh’s project, titled Incentive Engineering and Truthful Mechanisms for Grassland Quality and Local Market Price Estimation in Africa, will address the problem of holistic grazing and pasture management in East Africa. The main objectives of the project are: (i) to identify the most efficient ways to evaluate the overall quality of different grazing areas; (ii) to develop a user friendly recommendation system that chooses the next best grazing areas for pastoralists, that takes into account the holistic aspect of pasture management; and (iii) to incentivise pastoralists to truthfully report their activities in order to further improve the system’s predictive ability. The project is a collaboration between the University of Warwick and AfriScout.

Dr. Tanaya Guha (PI) has been awarded a research grant by Ford Motor Company through their Global University Research Program to develop the project "Multimodal Learning for In-Car Driver's Activity Monitoring". This 2-year project aims at developing an AI system that can monitor driver's and passengers' safety through audiovisual scene analysis integrated with short-term driving patterns. For example, by creating alerts when a driver is distracted. The project will be developed in collaboration with Ford's AI research at Michigan.

Prof. Yulan He and Prof. Rob Procter have been awarded funding from the EPSRC under the UKRI’s COVID-19 call. During the COVID-19 pandemic, national and international organisations are using social media and online platforms to communicate information about the virus to the public. However, propagation of misinformation has also become prevalent. This can strongly influence human behaviour and negatively impact public health interventions, so it is vital to detect misinformation in a timely manner. This project aims to develop machine learning algorithms for automatic collection of external evidence relating to COVID-19 and assessment of veracity of claims.

The project is in collaboration with Prof. Maria Liakata and Dr. Arkaitz Zubiaga from the Queen Mary University of London.

Cancer Research UK is funding a study to examine the use of machine learning to assist pathologists and improve the early detection of oral cancer.

We are very excited to work on this project with Dr Khurram and his team at Sheffield. Early detection of cancer is a key focus area of research in our lab and this award by CRUK adds to the portfolio of research at the TIA lab on early detection of cancer.

The pilot project will pave the way towards the development of a tool that can help identify pre-malignant changes in oral dysplasia, crucial for the early detection of oral cancer. Successful completion of this project carries significant potential for saving lives and improving patient healthcare provision. -- Professor Nasir Rajpoot

The research is led by Dr Ali Khurram at the University of Sheffield with Professor Nasir Rajpoot from the University of Warwick as the co-Principal Investigator. Other co-investigators and collaborators include Professor Hisham Mehanna and Dr Paul Navkivell from the University of Birmingham and Dr Jacqueline James from Queen’s University Belfast.