Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

IDSAI team

The Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence is overseen by the IDSAI Executive Board chaired by the Vice-President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Impact), Professor Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova. The Board brings together the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Deans from all the University’s Faculties:

The IDSAI Director, Deputy Director, IDSAI Associate Director and the IDSAI Manager are also members of the Executive Board

The Executive Board holds the full executive authority for IDSAI and looks to the Directors to deliver on the Institute’s aim to drive exciting new interdisciplinary research and education.

The Executive Board is supported by Emilia Slawkowska, Senior Administrator, IDSAI. 

The IDSAI Management Group is responsible to the Vice-President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Impact), Professor Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova, and the IDSAI Executive Board for the effective running of the IDSAI.

The IDSAI Management Group is led by the IDSAI Director, Aline Villavicencio and includes the Deputy Director, Associate Director and the IDSAI Manager. 

The Management Group is supported by Emilia Slawkowska, Senior Administrator, IDSAI.

IDSAI Research Fellows play a key role in advancing interdisciplinary data science research. Their work is split between two primary areas: leading their own research programme in alignment with the IDSAI's aims and objectives, and fostering new cross-disciplinary research collaborations. This includes initiating and supporting research partnerships, offering training and advice to non-specialist researchers, and mentoring students. Colleagues across the institution can bid for IDSAI Fellow time through our successful seed-corn funding opportunities.

Charlie Kirkwood

Charlie joined the Institute in October 2022 following his PhD in mathematics at the University of Exeter in partnership with the Met Office. Charlie’s background was originally in geology, and he has spent the last 7+ years learning how data science and artificial intelligence can help us to model and understand the environment; a topic in which he has a range of publications.

Data science interests: Neural networks, gaussian processes, deep learning, Bayesian statistics, ensemble methods, decision trees, model checking & calibration, interpretable AI, visualisation.

Cédric Mesnage

Cédric has over 20 years research experience in Artificial Intelligence. He was awarded a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Lugano, Switzerland in 2012, and a Master of research in Algorithms and Data Modelling from the University of Caen, France in 2005. He has since worked as a researcher in Data Science at the University of Bristol and Queen Mary University, lectured in Data Science at Southampton Solent and supervises Master students in Data Science at the University of Sheffield.

As a research fellow of IDSAI since 2022, he works on seedcorn projects and carries on his personal research on Artificial General Intelligence to automate scientific discovery.

His list of publications can be found on his Google Scholar profile.

The IDSAI Cornwall Research Hub is led by Dr Saptarshi Das and Dr Bram Kuijper.  It focussed on real-world data-driven fundamental and applied research in

  • machine learning,
  • big data analytics,
  • computational statistics and artificial intelligence (AI) methods to solve various challenges arising in control theory and optimisation,
  • dynamical systems,
  • signal, image and video processing,
  • large-scale and computing intensive numerical modelling with diverse application areas in renewable energy, environment, geosciences and mining engineering,
  • mathematical and computational biology,
  • epidemiology,
  • fluid dynamics,
  • biomedical engineering,
  • AI for industrial innovation and business,
  • space plasma physics/space weather.

It aims to facilitate co-ordination of cross-disciplinary theoretical and applied research on data science and AI in the context of regional expertise in Cornwall and internationally, by engaging with local and global industries, small and medium-size business and other stakeholders. We closely work with the colleagues from the Centre for Environmental Mathematics, Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI), Centre for Ecology and Conservation (CEC), Camborne School of Mines (CSM), Renewable Energy and Energy Policy Group at the Penryn Campus, and the European Centre for Environment & Human Health (ECEHH) at the Truro Campus. In the ESI based data science and AI activities, we apply dynamical systems and control theory to issues in natural and human population demography, resource management, conservation ecology, biodiversity and environmental growth, and cyber-physical systems in the context of health and well-being.

The IDSAI Cornwall Hub aims to bring together diverse complementary expertise using both quantitative and qualitative data from physical, environmental, biological, medical, engineering, economic and social sciences in order to create new transdisciplinary collaborations and novel research project ideas.

Four new MSc applied data science courses 

Any informal queries from potential PGT, PGR, Post-doctoral students and industrial collaborators/SMEs can be made to Bram Kuijper and Saptarshi Das.

Turing Fellows are established scholars with proven research excellence in data science, artificial intelligence, or a related field. They contribute to new ideas, drive collaborative projects, secure external funding and provide research expertise which is actively connected with the Institute and its network of universities and industry partners.

Find out more.

The University has created a centralised Research Software and Analytics Group that will assist our research community with complex and bespoke research software needs.