A recent paperLink opens in a new window published by Dr. Ian MertzLink opens in a new window, a postdoctoral researcher in the Theory and Foundations (FoCS)Link opens in a new window research group and the Centre for Discrete Mathematics and its Applications (DIMAP)Link opens in a new window, has disproved a longstanding conjecture on the limitations of space-bounded computation.

For many years it had been believed that a function, known as Tree Evaluation, would be the key to separating two fundamental classes of problems: those computable quickly (P), and those computable in low space (L). Mertz, along with James CookLink opens in a new window of Toronto, builds on their earlier work to show a low-space algorithm for Tree Evaluation, thus refuting this belief. In particular, their technique has attracted attention for shedding new light on the power of space-bounded computation, suggesting novel approaches to age-old questions in complexity theory. They show that space can be used in surprising ways, with the same memory serving many simultaneous purposes.

The paper, which Mertz will present at the 56th Annual ACM Symposium on the Theory of Computing (STOC 2024)Link opens in a new window, has been invited to the special issue of SIAM Journal on Computing (SICOMP)Link opens in a new window for the conference. STOC is the main conference of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) and one of the two premier venues for theoretical computer science, with only the top results being invited for publication in the special issue.

Mertz has also presented this work at many venues, including the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), Columbia University, Oxford University, Warwick (Online Complexity Seminar)Link opens in a new window, McGill University, and others.

The work of Professor Graham Cormode has been recognized with a “test of time” award. The ACM SIGMOD conference presents an award each year for the paper from SIGMOD 10-12 years previously that has had the biggest impact, and passed the “test-of-time”. The 2014 paper “PrivBayes: private data release via bayesian networks” (Jun Zhang, Graham Cormode, Cecilia M. Procopiuc, Divesh Srivastava, Xiaokui Xiao) was selected for this honour. The award will be presented at the 2024 ACM SIGMOD Conference in Santiago.

Toby Flynn, PhD student in the department's High-Performance and Scientific Computing group, supervised by Prof. Gihan Mudalige together with Dr. Robert Manson-Sawko at IBM Research UK received the best paper award at the 38th IEEE International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium (IPDPS 2024) last week in San Francisco US. IPDPS is one of the most prominent and high ranking conferences in parallel and distributed computing, now in its 38th year.

The paper titled "Performance-Portable Multiphase Flow Solutions with Discontinuous Galerkin Methods", details the development of a new performance portable solver workflow using Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods for developing multiphase flow simulations based on the OP2 domain-specific language. Results demonstrate scaling on both CPU and GPU systems including UK's national supercomputer, ARCHER2 at EPCC Edinburgh and the European Petascale Supercomputer, LUMI hosted by CSC Finland. The work is a collaboration with IBM Research UK supported by an iCASE award funded jointly by IBM and EPSRC.

The paper pre-print is available here.

WMG at the University of Warwick and Cadbury have used powerful X-ray scanning equipment to uncover the secrets of how the structure of biscuits, which is essential for the perfect ‘crunch’, forms.

The discoveries have been released to mark National Biscuit Day this Wednesday, 29th May. Biscuits are the UK’s favourite sweet treat, with the average person in the UK eating around six a week.

WMG researchers scanned biscuits in a bespoke oven as they baked, imaging the inside of the biscuit to reveal how the porous structure, essential for the perfect ‘crunch’, forms during the baking process.

Associate Professor at WMG’s Centre for Imaging, Metrology and Additive Technologies, Jay Warnett, said that this was just the beginning for the technology:

“Joining forces with Cadbury, we're cracking the code to the perfect biscuit. Through our X-rays, we're helping uncover the ideal baking time, thickness, and recipe for the ultimate eating experience”.

“But our research doesn't stop there; we're diving deeper into the world of biscuits and baked food and hope to continue working with Cadbury for a long time to come”.

Researchers at WMG, who were approached by Cadbury, constructed an oven from scratch inside an X-ray CT scanner – a similar machine to what you might find in a hospital.

Using the latest algorithms, the imaging process was sped up to scan the biscuit every 20 seconds throughout the baking process. When put together, the WMG and Cadbury teams could observe the biscuit baking over time.

Principal Scientist at Cadbury, Thomas Curwen, is excited for the future of biscuit development:

“The latest algorithms have allowed us to watch and quantify the baking process inside the biscuit in greater detail than ever before. This capability will help us determine the function of different ingredients in more detail and how the structure that forms controls the eating experience. I am excited by what we can learn and how this will help us deliver the great tasting biscuits of the future.”

The research process, which was led by Dr Warnett and Research Fellow Dr Evelien Zwanenburg, has proved the concept possible, and is therefore likely to be the first step before a larger project later this year.

This future work aims to extend the work across other biscuit varieties and baked goods.

The Tissue Image Analytics (TIA) Centre is delighted to extend its congratulations to Dang Vu for winning the 2024 Best Thesis Prize for the Department of Computer Science. Dang is a former PhD student from the TIA Centre and his thesis was entitled “Handcrafted Representations for Whole Slide Images”.

On winning his award Dang has said “Winning this award is a great honour and a wonderful acknowledgment of my research. I'm grateful for the support and guidance I've received from my advisors and colleagues throughout this journey. This recognition inspires me to continue working hard and contributing to the field of computer science and medical research”.

The award for Dang comes on the back of former students from the TIA Centre winning 4 previous Best Science Faculty Thesis awards in previous years :-

2015 - Adnan Khan
2017 - Korsuk Sirinukunwattana
2019 - Talha Qaiser
2021 - Simon Graham

Local artists, schoolchildren and their families in Radford, members of Coventry City Council and University of Warwick researchers have teamed up for a unique project to explore what puts people off making their homes more energy efficient.

Dr Lory Barile from the Department of Economics at the University worked with creative partners and experts in Net Zero to develop a series of lessons and practical activities for pupils at St. Augustine’s Catholic Primary School, Radford.

The children carried out science experiments to test out the insulation properties of different materials and built models of houses showing what they could do to make their homes more energy efficient to provide affordable warmth whilst helping to tackle global warming.

Parents and guardians then attended a showcase of their children’s work and their model houses. This provided a relaxed forum to discuss how homes can be better insulated, and what help is available from Coventry council for local residents.

Dr Barile explained: “Coventry has one of the highest levels of fuel poverty in the UK. In some areas of the city half of the households are in fuel poverty – that is, they need to spend at least 10% of their household income on keeping warm.

“If we can find more effective ways of speaking with residents about retrofit measures, we will make a big contribution to the success of Coventry’s net zero agenda.”

The objective of the project was to increase awareness of retrofit measures – such as double-glazing or cavity wall insulation - and to understand barriers to engagement with schemes designed to improve residents’ house energy efficiency.

Dr Barlie explained: “My project uses elements of a method called design thinking, and engages children in creative and interactive activities to help kick-start conversations with Radford’s adult householders.

“By embracing creativity, we hope that this pilot study will be a catalyst for change and inspire other residents in Coventry to increase their take up of government schemes aimed at creating healthy homes, reducing carbon emissions, energy bills, and fuel poverty.

“We also hope that the project will improve the way the council engages with the needs and aspirations of the local community.

“We are now working on creating an online teaching pack that all schools across the City will be able to use to raise the awareness of children and families about domestic energy efficiency.”

Bret Willers, Head of Sustainability & Climate Change at Coventry City Council said: “This pilot project has been very successful in raising people’s awareness as to how to better insulate their homes and how to access free funding to improve energy efficiency.

“We hope that this pilot will contribute to increase the take up of schemes available to households to meet the City’s commitment to tackling climate change and addressing fuel poverty.”

The workshops, facilitated by Warwick researchers, members of the Council, student ambassadors, teachers, and local artists, included an interactive workshop on energy conservation, 3D models of energy efficient homes, and a final celebratory event with adults engaged in discussions on barriers to housing retrofitting, where children’s work and learning was also showcased. Parents turnout was extremely high, highlighting the potential of using similar approaches to work with local communities and address the challenges of climate change.

The information gathered from these workshops has informed the development of a survey that has been distributed to all parents in the school and will guide future iterations of the methodology in areas of Coventry where engagement with retrofit measures is particularly low.

The survey is available here. Coventry residents are invited to fill it in and enter a draw for one of three £50 Love2shop vouchers.

A team of academics from The University of Warwick and Aston University has secured a £1.8m grant to engineer microbial cell factories to produce membrane proteins which will support future drug screening and sustainable chemical production.

Professor Reinhard MaurerLink opens in a new window has recently published his paper in Physical Review Letters titledStructure of graphene grown on Cu(111): X-ray Standing Wave Measurement and Density Functional Theory Prediction'Link opens in a new window