InspiredResearch Winter 2016 Issue 9 News from the Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford Computational FabulousBiology: Striving for Newexcellence Title– p17 ANNIV E R S A th R Y Welcome Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee: Inventor of the World Wide Web, joins us – p3 Surveilling surveillance: Examining how smartphone apps track people – p26 Keeping Social Media Social: New video launched – p16 CompSciOxford DepartmentOfComputerScienceUniversityOfOxford Inspired Research Letter from the is a twice-yearly newsletter published by the Department of Computer Science at the University Head of Department of Oxford. If you would like to learn more about anything you read in these It’s official: Oxford is the best! At least, according pages, please get in touch: to the 2016 Times Higher Education world [email protected] university rankings. Oxford is the first UK To subscribe to future issues, university to achieve first position in this ranking, e-mail: [email protected] a huge coup for the whole institution, and a wonderful boost for our new Vice Chancellor, To download previous issues, visit Professor Louise Richardson. The announcement www.cs.ox.ac.uk/inspiredresearch made headline news in the UK, but the following week the THE gave us news that, to us in the Editorial board Department of Computer Science at least, was Suzanna Marsh (Editor) even more important. For the first time, the THE published a subject ranking of computer science departments, and Kiri Walden (Sub-Editor) according to this, Oxford is ranked third in the world (and first in the Suvarna Designs (Designer) UK). Perhaps that might not sound so impressive, but when one Benjamin Neal considers that our competition in the USA includes giants like MIT and Berkeley, this is a huge achievement. Daniel Marsden Emma Dunlop I am delighted to be able to confirm that Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor Faris Abou-Saleh of the World Wide Web, joins the Department of Computer Science as Jason RC Nurse a Professor. More on that on page 3. Leanne Carveth One of my main goals when I took over as Head of Department Martha Lewis two years ago was to increase our undergraduate intake, which in Maureen York practice means persuading more colleges to admit Computer Science Megan Schaible students. This process has to be done on a college-by-college basis, and there is no simple way to affect a step change. It is therefore Peter Jeavons very gratifying that I am able to report that Lady Margaret Hall, Sarah Baldwin Christ Church, Hertford, and Jesus Colleges have all agreed to admit Seyyed Shah undergraduate computer scientists in the years to come. This is but a Sharon Lloyd step – we still have a long way to go! Varun Kanade Whenever one writes an article of this type, there is a natural Will Smith temptation to simply list all the wonderful things that have happened to us since the last report, and you will have guessed that this is Contributors indeed the rule of thumb I use for the most part (see above!). However, Alex Rogers Michael Wooldridge it would be criminally negligent of me to write a report on the life of Arnau Erola Sir Nigel Shadbolt the department over the last six months without mentioning Brexit. David Gavaghan Paul Harrenstein Whatever one’s views on the rights and wrongs of Brexit, the simple truth is that research-led universities in 2016 must be international Emma Espinosa Prince Abudu in their outlook. We seek to attract the best students, irrespective Gabriel Inelus Reuben Binns of their origins, and the best academics, wherever they may be Helena Webb Sadie Cresse found. Anything that impedes this makes it harder for us to be as Ioannis Agrafiotis Seyyed Shah excellent as we can be. And quite apart from this, about 40% of Jassim Happa Thomas Gibson- our research income derives from EU sources – in particular, the Robinson Jim Davies wonderful European Research Council (ERC), which funds large scale Jun Zhao pure research projects on the sole basis of scientific excellence. Our Katherine Fletcher department has been the recipient of twelve ERC grants in total, a Laura Jones total which I believe exceeds that of any other UK Computer Science Maria Sueiro department. The ERC has been, in my opinion, the most important Max Van Kleek development for European science of the last century. It is painful Michael Goldsmith indeed to contemplate a future without it: there are challenging times ahead for UK universities. But amidst all the doubt and uncertainty, Cover image: Blanca Rodriguez continued on next page 2 Inspired Research: News from the Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford NEWS from previous page there is one thing that I am quite Sir Tim Berners-Lee certain about: the University of Oxford will not just continue joins the University of Oxford’s but will prosper in the years to come. And there is no institution, anywhere in the world, that I Department of Computer Science would rather work for – Brexit or no Brexit! Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, We are very much looking inventor of the World Wide Web, has forward to celebrating the joined the Department of Computer department’s 60th anniversary in Science at the University of Oxford 2017. (See page 8.) as a professor. Sir Tim, who has become a member of Christ Church, DEPARTMENT REVIEW 2016 will be undertaking research. Sir Tim is also a full-time professor One of the big changes in at the Massachusetts Institute of academic life since the 1980s Technology (MIT), in Massachusetts, is the ever increasing scrutiny USA, where he is based, and of our activity. As well as where he leads the Decentralized national activities such as the Information Group research. He will Research Excellence Framework, continue to shape the future of the universities typically organise Web as Director of both the World their own internal assessments, Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and and Oxford is no exception. Our the World Wide Web Foundation. last such evaluation, in 2010, made recommendations that Named as one of Time magazine’s have changed the department 100 Most Important People of the ‘Few living individuals have changed dramatically – the establishment 20th Century, Sir Tim is best known our world as profoundly as Tim of an algorithms research group as the inventor of the World Wide did, with his invention of the World being the most obvious example. Web. In 1989 he wrote a memo Wide Web’, said Head of Computer In June 2016 we underwent the called ‘Information Management: Science Professor Mike Wooldridge. latest such assessment. With A Proposal’ in which he married ‘We are delighted and honoured to a panel of external assessors, up hypertext with the Internet, to welcome Tim back to Oxford, and we submitted 130 pages of create a system for sharing and are tremendously excited about self-evaluation reports, critically distributing information globally. He what we will be able to do together assessing all aspects of our also created the first web browser, in the years to come.’ activity. This was followed by server and editor, and ensured that two visits by the panel, over 3 the technology was made freely The Dean of Christ Church, the Very days in total, where the panel available to everyone. Revd Professor Martyn Percy, said: had the opportunity to meet ‘we are delighted that Professor with staff and students. Despite Sir Tim graduated from the Sir Tim Berners-Lee will be joining the incredible amount of work University of Oxford with a first- us. As one of the most significant that such reviews entail, and class degree in Physics in 1976, innovators and scholars of our the stress that they inevitably and we are very glad that he has time, his work with us here in generate, I am pleased to report returned 40 years later to become Oxford will continue to consolidate that the review was an extremely a member of the Department of our standing as the world’s top positive event, with praise – and, Computer Science. Sir Tim is also university. Christ Church also of course, suggestions for further pleased to join, at Oxford, his long intends to appoint a new Associate improvement – offered across the time research collaborator Sir Professor in Computer Science to whole spectrum of our activities. Nigel Shadbolt, who was recently enhance our collaboration with the appointed Principal of Jesus Department, and hopes to offer at Professor ANNIV College, and with whom he co- least three undergraduate places E R S Michael Wooldridge A founded the Open Data Institute, per year in the subject.’ th R Y November 2016 London. www.cs.ox.ac.uk Issue 9 Winter 2016 3 NEWS News in brief Max Whitby, first year DPhil student, won the Best Student Paper Award at the DNA22 conference for the paper titled ‘Chemical Reaction Network Designs for Asynchronous Logic Circuits’. The paper proposed the first design for an asynchronous computing device using chemical reaction networks. Anna Muszkiewicz has been awarded an EPSRC Doctoral Prize. During her DPhil project, Anna has constructed multi- scale models of human atrial muscle cells and whole atria to investigate the role of the nNOS protein in human atrial electrophysiology. During the EPSRC Doctoral Prize project, Grant awarded The aim of this award is to accelerate Anna will design and conduct the use of computer simulation in silico drug trials for atrial for research into in the research of cardiotoxicity fibrillation using a population of cardiotoxicity and specific cardiac diseases human whole-atria computer such as myocardial infarction and models. heart failure. The team includes an The National Centre for the impressive list of collaborators from Replacement, Refinement & Oxford DPhil student Martin 11 countries including industry and Reduction of Animals in Research Strohmeier has been awarded academic scientists, clinicians and (known as NC3Rs) has just awarded an EPSRC Doctoral Prize.