Professor Keedwell is Professor of Artificial Intelligence. He joined the Computer Science discipline in 2006 and was appointed as a lecturer in 2009. He has research interests in optimisation (e.g. genetic algorithms, swarm intelligence, hyperheuristics) machine learning and AI-based simulation and their application to problems in bioinformatics and engineering yielding over 160 journal and conference publications. He leads a research group focusing on applied artificial intelligence and has been involved with successful funding applications totalling over £3.75 million from the EPSRC, Innovate UK, EU and industry. Particular areas of current interest are the optimisation of transportation systems, the development of sequence-based hyperheuristics and human-in-the-loop optimisation methods for applications in engineering. Current projects include:

• Exploiting Quantum Computing for Large-Scale Transport Models (Innovate UK with CityScience)
• Advanced Metaheuristics and Hyperheuristics for Telecommunications Scheduling Problems (with BT)
• EPSRC iCASE: Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Privacy in Private Spaces (with Dyson)

Previous projects include:

• AI for Legal Services (KTP with Darby and Darby)
• Hyper-heuristic Optimisation for Advanced Zero Carbon Public Transport Planning (IUK SmartGrant with CityScience)
• Combined Optimisation of Transportation and Energy Networks (KTP with City Science)
• Special Issue of Journal of Hydroinformatics "Making Water Smart"
• Real-Time Distributed Optimisation of Dualed Transport & Electrical Networks (Innovate UK 2020-2021, with City Science)
• Human-Computer Optimisation for Water Systems Planning and Management (Project Blog) (EPSRC 2017-2020)
• SIM4NEXUS (EU 2016-2020)
• Multi-Horizon Digital Twin Models for Transportation (InnovateUK 2019-2021, with City Science)
• Sequence Analysis Based Hyperheuristics (EPSRC 2012-2016)
• Ant Colony Optimisation for Genome-Wide Association Studies (EPSRC 2012-2013)
• Cellular Automata Dual Drainage Simulation (EPSRC 2010-2013)

Recent activity

• Chair: Evolution Artificielle 2022 - 31st October-2nd November 2022, Exeter
• Speaker: BCS Real Artificial Intelligence 2022, September 2022, London
• Speaker: Somerset Innovation Exchange, September 2022, Taunton
• Keynote speaker & Panellist: BCS AI-2021, December 2021, Online (Cambridge)
• Keynote speaker: ROADEF 2021, April 2021, Online (Mulhouse)
• Contributor: Alan Turing Institute Presents AI-UK 2021, March 2021, Online (London)
• BT Thought Leadership Seminar, July 2020, Online (Ipswich)
• Keynote speaker: Evolution Artificielle 2019, October 2019, Mulhouse, France
• Keynote speaker: MCDM Workshop, GECCO 2019, Prague, Czech Republic

Membership of professional bodies

• Member of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
• Member of the EPSRC Peer Review College
• Member of the IEEE Task Force on Hyperheuristics
• Fellow of the Alan Turing Institute (2021-2023)
• Member of the AISB Committee (2010-2020)

Administrative responsibilities

• Co-Lead, IDSAI Trustworthy AI Theme (2021-)
• Academic Lead, AI Group (2020-)
• Director of Research, Computer Science (2015-2021)
• Chair of the EPSRC Strategy Group (2018-2019)
• Admissions Tutor, Computer Science (2013-2017)

Qualifications

BSc Cognitive Science, University of Exeter (1998)

PhD Computer Science, University of Exeter (2003)