We are happy to announce that Dr Paris Giampouras has joined the Department of Computer Science as an Assistant Professor. Originally from Greece, he has relocated to Warwick from Baltimore, where he spent four years working as a Postdoctoral Fellow and later as a Research Faculty member at the Mathematical Institute for Data Science at Johns Hopkins University. His expertise lies in machine learning theory and its applications in image processing and computer vision. More specifically, his research has focused on exploring parsimonious representations to address various inverse problems and adversarial robustness.

Currently, he is focusing on two main areas: a) leveraging structured representation in Generative AI applications, and b) developing algorithms that enable continual learning of various tasks for deep learning systems. His goal is to contribute to the foundational understanding of AI algorithms, with a focus on robustness, applications of AI in medicine, and climate change.

We welcome him to the department!

One funded PhD position is available in the group of Dr Matthias C. Caro, who will join the Theory and Foundations group in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Warwick, UK, in Fall 2024. Candidates interested in the interactions between quantum computing and learning theory are encouraged to apply.

The Warwick CS theory group has strong ties with the Centre for Discrete Mathematics and its Applications (DIMAP) and, together with DIMAP, is one of the leading theory groups in Europe, with regular publications in top international conferences and journals in theoretical computer science. Moreover, the successful candidate will become a part of the exciting, interdisciplinary research initiative Warwick Quantum. Overall, the Department of Computer Science at Warwick offers an excellent research environment. It was ranked 4th in the latest UK research assessment in Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2021.

The Humboldt Research Award is given to outstanding researchers whose discoveries and insights have had a significant impact

Jianfeng Feng, a Professor of Computer Science at Warwick University, has been selected to receive a Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

The award is granted to fewer than 100 researchers each year across all disciplines. It recognizes academics whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights, across their careers, have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future. Winners receive a prize of 60,000 Euros and are invited to carry out research projects of their own choice, in cooperation with specialist colleagues in Germany, in the hopes of promoting international cooperation.

Professor Feng has spent much of his career working on developing new mathematical, statistical and computational theories and methods to meet the challenges raised in neuroscience and mental health research. He has made considerable contributions to the modelling of single neurons and neuronal networks, brain-inspired machine learning algorithms, stochastic control and causality analysis. He has many publications in journals that include Nature Medicine, Nature Human Behaviour, Nature Aging, and Nature Mental Health. His recent research interests are mainly in exploring the human brain, based upon data and experiments, carrying out simulations of the entire human brain (86 billion neurons), monkey and zebrafish brains, and developing brain-inspired AI algorithms for applications in automatic cars and medicine.

Jianfeng Feng was awarded the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award in 2011, as a scientist “being of great achievement or potential”. He was also invited to deliver the 2019 Paykel Lecture at Cambridge University.