Dr. Southall graduated with a degree in Physics & Music, and an M.Sc. in Computation. She also gained a Ph.D for research on the dance music industry in the mid-twentieth century. Dr. Southall worked in industry and commerce for 10 years, working for organisations including the BP Research Centre, the British Council and Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance, before moving into academia; she has now been based at the University of Chester for over 25 years, where she is a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science. Dr. Southall’s research interests are in interdisciplinary applications of computing to history and heritage, and other areas of public engagement with research, especially relating to climate change and sustainability.

Abstract:

Apps to Save the Planet - Usability, Accessibility, and Human Nature

We are, apparently, now well past the point where there are more mobile phones on the planet than there are people. A large proportion of those 7.2 billion or so devices are smartphones, with computing power and connectivity that NASA astronauts on the first moon missions could have only dreamt of. Surely, with so many people having access to so much information so easily, our smart devices can help us tackle problems such as climate change and environmental degradation?

The answer is yes! ….and no…. and also maybe….. An awful lot depends not only on what our mobile phone apps are capable of, in technical terms, but also in how those apps and devices interact with their all-too-human users. This talk will include nuclear accidents, travel maps, and the many short cuts our brains take to make sense of a world that’s always a fraction of a second ahead of us. How can we use what we know about human nature, and human cognition, to make better use of the powerful portable computers that so many of us carry with us everywhere - and maybe even help reduce our impact on the planet in the process?

Professor Andrew Ware, Professor of Computing, Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Science, University of South Wales, UK.

As Professor in Computing, Andrew is engaged in both teaching and research. He is currently supervising eight PhD students and leading on a number of initiatives with local companies.

Beyond the University, Professor Ware is currently working as external examiner in Computing for Staffordshire University, with particular responsibility for helping to oversee the development of new provision in Ghana. In terms of international work, Professor Ware is currently the USW representative on two European Funded Intensive Programmes and involved with projects in Singapore, Norway and Canada.

High Performance Computing (HPC) Wales is an innovative collaboration that gives businesses and researchers access to world-class, secure and relatively easy to use HPC technology. USW is one of the partners in the collaboration and has devolved targets in terms of industrial usage, student engagement, as well as research and curriculum development. Professor Ware is the lead academic from USW on this exciting and dynamic project.

Andrew has supervised nearly 30 PhD students and has lead on collaborative projects both within the UK and Europe. He has lectured in many parts of the World including the USA, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong. His main research interest is the application of AI techniques to help solve real world problems.

TBA.