Short Bio

Welcome to my web site. I am a research student working part-time on a PhD in the field of machine learning and language acquisition at the Department of Computer Science, University of Liverpool.

I have a BEng and MEng in Electronic Engineering from the University of Warwick and have since worked as an embedded and desktop software engineer in various sectors, including automotive research and development, motorsport, medical, web, GIS, advertising and others.

After working in the corporate sector for a number of years I decided that I wanted to change direction a bit and work on something that could have a positive impact on people. This led me to the University of Liverpool and development work on a tool for identifying delays in children's language development.

My eldest son has a very rare condition called Idic-15 which among other things means that he will never talk, and my younger son has a communication disorder which means he is also non-verbal, but we hope that one day he will be able to speak. One thing that has become clear to me was the limited amount of knowledge and advice for parents about helping children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and/or socio-communication disorders. There is still a notable lack of effective tools, advice and research relating to improving language and communication development of affected individuals. This is partly because the ‘spectrum’ is so wide and the symptoms are so variable. But I believe technology could be a key part of a solution.

My current interests are in machine learning, mobile and web applications, and language development. I also have a long-standing interest in cybersecurity. Click on 'My Research' to find out more about my PhD work.

Career

  • 2016-PresentPhD Student

    Dept of Computer Science,
    University Of Liverpool, UK

  • 2015-2016Research Assistant

    Dept of Computer Science,
    University Of Liverpool, UK

  • 2012-2015IT Consultant

    SDS, Wirral, UK

  • 2004-2012IT Manager

    LinkDirect, Wirral, UK

  • 2000-2004Co-Founder

    Warwick Control Technologies,
    Coventry, UK

  • 1998-2000Research Associate

    WMG, University Of Warwick
    Coventry, UK

  • 1997-1997Software Engineer

    Mott MacDonald,
    Altrincham, UK

Can you help?

If you have a child who's learning to talk, click 'research' button!

research