Postgraduate Research Degrees in Computing and Electronic Systems, MSc by
Research, MPhil, PhD and Phd via the Integrated Programme
Computer Science, Computer Systems Engineering, Electronics and
Telecommunications Engineering, Modules, Courses, research, degree scheme,
course, computing, computer science, electronics, electronic systems,
postgraduate, graduate, dissertation
Postgraduate Research - Topic Areas
We embrace a wide breadth of research across the computer science and electrical
engineering disciplines. You will find a full range of research areas from
practical engineering through to theoretical foundations, and from
well-established subjects through to newly emerging technology, applications,
and fundamentals.
Choosing a Research Topic
Perhaps the most important decision you have to make is which topic to
pursue. You could match your research interests to:
In order to apply you can simply indicate a research topic or an area of
interest on the application form. We can use this information to match you with
a project supervisor before making a formal offer of a place at the University.
We are here to help you choose!
Please contact any member of our academic staff – they are all expecting your
email and will be delighted to help you explore the possibilities.
You may also wish to contact the Postgraduate Administrator (Admissions) at
csee@essex.ac.uk – who can help put you in
touch with potential supervisors, and help with your application, visa, and
general enquiries.
Please find below a summary of CSEE research topic areas
with a mapping to staff members.
- Parallel computer architectures; hardware-software co-design:
- Advanced processor architectures, debug support, design automation,
reconfigurable systems architectures and computing, multiple and many
processor core based systems, biologically inspired architectures, image
processing and computer vision in parallel and distributed systems;
performance analysis of parallel computation and embedded systems
- Machine learning:
- Computational intelligence applied to biomedical data and affective
computing:
- Automatic programming via evolution; evolution of learning algorithms:
- Computational intelligence for autonomous mobile robots:
- Data mining; applied artificial intelligence; information retrieval;
bioinformatics:
- Planning, reasoning about action; decision-making; logic for
representation:
- Knowledge acquisition; intelligent web search:
- Computational linguistics; semantics, logic:
- Theorem Proving:
- Applications of AI in robotics; agent-based scheduling of automatic
ports:
-
Applications of artificial intelligence, including, constraints
satisfaction, finance, economics, management, optimization, scheduling,
evolutionary computation, heuristic search
- Audio engineering; loudspeaker systems; spatial and multi-channel audio;
perceptual-modelling; high-resolution audio and coding; audio measurements;
circuit design; digital signal processing; digital power amplification;
ADC/DAC conversion; sigma-delta modulation; network applications:
- Adaptive algorithms; asynchronous BCIs; mental tasks,
neurophysiology; Feature selection; intelligent BCIs; BCIs for
control; BCIs for communication:
- Real-time 2-D pointer control; BCI design via evolutionary
algorithms:
- Brain actuated control of robots and wheelchairs:
- Pattern recognition:
- Brain-actuated robotic control; bio-signal processing; machine
learning; adaptive technology:
- Data analysis and optimisation in finance:
- A wide range of projects in finance, economics and management
- Applications of computational intelligence, including, constraints
satisfaction, finance, economics, management, optimization, scheduling,
evolutionary computation, heuristic search
- Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Theory and Applications, Adaptive Type-2 Fuzzy
Systems, Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Control
- Hybrid Intelligent Systems which include Neuro-Fuzzy systems,
Genetic-Fuzzy systems, Evolutionary-Fuzzy Systems and Neuro-Genetic Systems
- Computational Intelligence Applications to Financial Systems
- Computational Intelligence
- Computational Intelligence and Games
- Machine Learning and self-adaptation
- Embedded Agents, Techniques for creating
computational compact intelligent agents for embedding into small electronic
products
- Video networking; video transcoding;
video quality metrics; IPTV; video coding for IP and wireless networks;
multimedia communication networks; joint-source channel coding:
- Fixed and wireless networks for telecommunication and computer
applications; networked systems; protocols; sensor networks:
- Performance engineering for telecommunication networks:
- Congestion control, overlay networks, ad-hoc networks, end-to-end quality
of service, network services, peer-to-peer networking,
cross-layer optimisation, flow/congestion control in IP networks, network
performance management:
- Quality of Service mechanisms for Internet protocol networks; management
and control of optical and core networks; multimedia Internet applications:
- High-capacity optical network systems; optical transmission; local access
architectures based on arrayed waveguide gratings:
- Sensor networks:
- Wireless networks and communications; wireless sensor networks; mobile ad
hoc networks; network algorithm and protocol design; fixed mobile
convergence (FMC); cross-layer design; system modelling and performance
analysis; routing protocols; IP network management; pervasive (or adaptive)
service engineering; mobile computing; distributed systems; Grid computing:
- Security and Hardware/software co-design:
- Wireless networks:
- Smart classrooms; automated assessment; intelligent tutors;
virtual learning; eLearning; laboratory hardware and software:
- Virtual reality e-learning environments
- Co-creation and collaborative environments
- Wearable sensors for rehabilitation; wireless sensor networks:
- Embedded Systems and System-on-Chip (SoC) design; development
support and technology to increase performance; reliability and
security:
- Advanced processor architectures, Debug support, Design
automation, Reconfigurable systems architectures and computing,
Multiple and many processor core based systems, Biologically
inspired architectures, Image processing and computer vision in
parallel and distributed systems; Image-processing algorithms,
Performance analysis of parallel computation and embedded systems;
Hardware-software co-design
- Hardware/Software codesign:
- Verification of real-time systems:
- Bespoke (original) hardware and software for
novel devices
- Virtual and augmented reality; wearable computers:
- Bioeletric Interfaces:
- Affective (Emotion Sensitive) Computing
- Distributed computing; pervasive computing; intelligent inhabited
environments; embedded systems:
- Intelligent Inhabited Environments which includes the following subareas:
Ambient Intelligence; Embedded agents; Multi Embedded Agents; Ubiquitous and
Pervasive Computing
- Intelligent Inhabited Environments which includes the following subareas:
Ambient Intelligence; Embedded agents; Multi Embedded Agents; Intelligent
Buildings, Smart Homes, Digital Homes, Ubiquitous and Pervasive Computing
- Numerical techniques in electromagnetic field problems:
- Numerical methods for stochastic processes with application to signal
processing, control engineering, economics and physics; nonlinear filtering
and stochastic control; statistical methods in telecommunications:
- Hypercomplex linear algebra and matrix decompositions with applications
to vector signal and image processing:
- Stochastic models of neural and cardiovascular
signals using history-dependent point processes:
- Statistical learning theory:
- Simulation and Emulation of Social Environments (eg
home, work etc)
- Online Immersive Mixed Reality (eg eLearning, virtual presence)
- Virtual and Augmented Reality
- Theory and applications of genetic programming; particle swarm
optimisation; evolutionary neural networks:
- Genetic Algorithms:
- Evolutionary algorithms based on probability models; hybrid heuristics;
the application of heuristics in telecommunication networks:
- Evolutionary robotics; GA and GP algorithms for robot control:
- Genetic programming:
- Evolutionary Computation
-
Professor Simon Lucas
- Heuristic methods and applications in Natural and Evolutionary
Computation, especially in
chance discovery
- Information Retrieval; knowledge extraction; natural language
processing; query log analysis:
- Computational linguistics; semantics; the philosophy of language;
logic
Anaphora resolution; Ontology learning; Text mining (especially
relation extraction from biomedical texts); spoken dialogue interaction
(particularly in embodied communication); corpus annotation;
underspecification in semantics; computational psycholinguistics:
- Semiconductor lasers, photonic amplifiers:
- Optoelectronic devices; wavelength converters:
- Optoelectronic devices; semiconductor lasers:
- Photonics - optoelectronic devices; high-speed lasers and photodetectors;
ultrafast measurement techniques:
- Semiconductor laser characteristics:
- THz generation and detection using optoelectronic devices:
- Function optimisation via genetic programming and genetic algorithms;
evolution of bin-packing algorithms; TSP solvers and local SAT solvers:
- Mathematical programming; multiobjective optimization:
- Heuristic methods and applications in optimisation and constraint
satisfaction
- Meteorological radars, radar imagery, electromagnetic wave propagation:
Microwave components including antennas, filters and amplifiers; numerical
techniques in electromagnetic field problems; nondestructive evaluation of
materials by electromagnetic techniques:
THz devices; advanced RF measurement techniques: Dr
Anthony Vickers
- Robotics and autonomous vehicles; robotic aviation:
- Distributed coordinated control of multi-robotic systems;
distributed information fusion in wireless sensor networks; model
predictive control of mobile robots:
- Autonomous Vehicles; embedded systems:
- Human-centred robotics; SLAM algorithms; underwater robotics;
service robots; medical robots:
- Brain-actuated robotic control; learning algorithms; neurofuzzy
systems; computer vision; multimodal human-machine interfaces;
information fusion:
- Robot Navigation:
Robotics which includes Autonomous Mobile Robots; Artificial
Intelligence which includes intelligent control of industrial processes;
Embedded Systems.
Robotic Car Racing
Domestic Robots
UAVs
Dr Adrian Clark
- Optoelectronic physics:
- Non-equilibrium carriers; low-dimensional structures; hot electrons and
hot phonons; scattering theory; electron-phonon interactions;
photoconductivity:
- Ultrafast studies of semiconductor properties using femtosecond lasers:
- Multi-dimensional signal processing algorithms; non-linear system
identification:
- Hypercomplex Fourier transforms and filters, vector filtering, filtering
of orientation signals:
- Biomedical signals; electroencephalography; joint time-frequency analysis;
multidomain feature selection; pattern recognition:
- Biomedical signal analysis:
- Physiological assessment of emotions:
- Sensor Network Node Architectures:
- Multi-agent systems:
- Agent technology for e-commerce, electronic markets; negotiation
protocols; auctions; strategic behaviour; trust management; recommendation
systems; agent-facilitated web service discovery and composition:
- Self-awareness, mentalistic approaches to agency:
- Web search agents:
- Personalisation - soft agent techniques for personalising information
spaces and network services
- Software design theory and practice; object-oriented programming, design
and modelling; design patterns; software architecture, evolution,
verification, visualisation, understanding, engineering, reverse-engineering
and re-engineering:
- Agent-based software engineering:
- Software metrics:
- Software verification:
- System specification:
- End-User Programming; techniques to allow
non-technical users to engineer the specification and functionality of
software
- Stability of Interacting Rule Based Distributed Computer Systems;
understanding and countering cyclic instability in pervasive
computing and intelligent environments
Reliability and performance for embedded
systems applications, multiple processor cores based systems, performance
analysis and monitoring
Professor Klaus McDonald-Maier
- Picosecond and femtosecond fibre laser development for Terahertz science
and technology advancement:
- Design and construction of advanced Terahertz spectrometers for the
study of life:
- Philosophy of Computer Science:
- Logic and Computation; Non Standard Logics; Philosophies of Mathematics
and Computer Science:
- Ontology; paradigms; future of computing:
- Foundations of intelligent agents; agent theories; logics of knowledge and
belief; social order in multi-agent systems:
- The application of formal reasoning to problems in the human understanding
of computer programs and specifications, program slicing and conditioning:
- Formal methods:
- Specification logics; theories of refinement:
-
network-theoretical approaches to analysing data, algorithms on graphs,
properties of graphs and networks, scale-free networks and other theoretical
models of computer networks, applications of optimisation techniques to
computer networks, applications of statistics to computer networks
- Study of the light activation of Bovine Rhodopsin:
- T-bells, a method of biological bar-coding:
- Computer vision:
- Image processing and computer vision in parallel and distributed systems;
image-processing algorithms; performance analysis of parallel computation;
document compression:
- Image processing; hypercomplex algebras and Fourier transforms; vector
filters:
- Image processing; multimedia; model-based coding and 3-D modelling:
- Video/Image compression, motion estimation, image/video segmentation,
image retrieval and image/video
watermarking, object tracking:
- Evolution of enhancement; segmentation and classification algorithms;
evolutionary non-linear filtering; models of visual and cross-modal binding
process:
- Multiscale image processing:
- Visual based navigation of mobile robots; head gesture based control of
wheelchairs; human motion tracking:
- Remote sensing:
