Author: amb24

New Chair in Artificial Intelligence

Professor Lars Kotthoff has been appointed as the Johann and Gaynor Rupert Chair in Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the University of St Andrews.

The role, based in the School of Computer Science, is a crucial appointment to explore and advance the critical role of AI, both now and in the future.

Professor Kotthoff completed his PhD at St Andrews and returns to his alma mater from the University of Wyoming where he was Templeton Chair in Computer Science, Associate Professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, Founding Adjunct Professor in the School of Computing, and Presidential Faculty Fellow.

He has held postdoctoral appointments at the University of British Columbia, Canada, and University College Cork, Ireland. Professor Kotthoff also holds a Diploma from the University of Leipzig, Germany.

His research focuses on developing approaches in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning that empowers domain scientists and practitioners to apply state-of-the-art methods to solve real-world problems. Part of this is making cutting-edge research available to, and usable by, non-experts. His contributions span foundational AI, applications of AI in other areas such as materials science, and the development and support of AI tools that are widely used across a broad range of areas.

Of his appointment as The Johann and Gaynor Rupert Chair in Artificial Intelligence at the University of St Andrews, he said: “I very much look forward to re-joining St Andrews after a 13-year absence. AI is becoming increasingly important in all areas of science, and I am excited to explore opportunities with my colleagues in Computer Science and beyond. St Andrews’ world-class staff and collaborative environment make it an ideal location for advancing AI and its application in other areas.”

This position was made possible by a donation from regular participants of the Dunhill Links Championship who collectively donated £3m for an endowed chair in Johann and Gaynor Rupert’s name, as a thank you for the years of participation in the Dunhill Links Championship, and also in thanks for what Mr Rupert has done for golf and St Andrews since the original Alfred Dunhill Cup in 1985.  This new academic Chair is part of the University’s Making Waves Campaign, a £300-million fundraising initiative to foster world-leading research, attract and retain talented academics and students. It also aims to address global challenges by developing new infrastructure and expanding academic and entrepreneurial initiatives.

 

 

 

CS Graduation Reception

On behalf of the school, we would like to invite our Graduating Students and your guests to our upcoming graduation reception.

Please join us in celebrating your achievements and marking this significant milestone in your academic journey with a glass of bubbly and some cakes from Fisher and Donaldsons

    • Date: Thursday, 3rd July
    • Time: 10:30am – 12:30pm
    • Location: Jack Cole Coffee area

We look forward to seeing you there.

Best Wishes,

The Admin Team

The School of Computer Science is looking to appoint a Lecturer.

We are seeking a scholar with a growing international research reputation in Computer Science and a commitment to delivering high-quality teaching within the broad field of Computer Communications and Networking, including Internet-based systems and Security.

For more information, please take a look at the University Website:
https://lnkd.in/eBqfK2NN

Congratulations to Saleem!

We’re thrilled to share some fantastic news and congratulate Saleem on being selected as one of the recipients of the ICANN Grant Program for his  project: “Deployability of ILNP at Global Scale.”

The announcement was officially made by ICANN on May 29, 2025, as part of their first-ever cohort of grant recipients. You can read the full announcement here.

This is a major achievement and a testament to Saleem’s dedication. Once again, congratulations, Saleem!

 

Successful Technology Through The Ages Event with Madras College

The school hosted a highly successful outreach event on May 8th, welcoming S1 pupils from Madras College to the school. Attendees had the opportunity to explore the development of computing technology through the ages and interact with a large number of interactive technology demonstrations and exhibits. It was lovely to see how well behaved and engaged they all were with Computing, which is a real credit to Madras College and its values, and it was great to see everyone having fun, including the older kids too i.e., CS staff 🙂

Special thanks to all staff in CS who got involved with this, volunteering their equipment and time to talk to the S1 pupils, testing, setting up, and clearing away

Also, special thanks to the S1 pupils for joining us and to Janice Patterson, Stephen Forbes, and Keith Maskell at Madras for all their work organising the trip from the Madras end.

 

Doors Open @ Computer Science, St Andrews on Thursday 1 May 2025, 10am-4pm (drop in)

We are holding a Doors Open event on Thursday, 1 May 202,5 and would love for you and your colleagues to visit us at this event.  

Our school is growing, and we want to make sure we are listening to organisations locally, nationally, and internationally. Our hope is that the day is a chance to share and discuss some of the exciting projects going on by our staff and students. We’d love to hear about what you are doing and see if there are any interesting ways to work together.  

We have created an events webpage with details and outlines of the projects which will be on show; we are adding more every day (Doors Open @ CS). We will also have our Hot Tattie sessions upstairs in 1.33b at various times during the day. 

So we can plan refreshments, it would be great if you could register: Doors Open @ Computer Science 2025  

If you have any questions, please get in touch. 

We are hiring a Professor in Artificial Intelligence

The University of St Andrews wishes to make an appointment to the Johann and Gaynor Rupert Chair in Artificial Intelligence in the School of Computer Science.

You will be an outstanding scholar of international standing in Artificial Intelligence with a proven track record of securing significant grant funding and leading high-quality externally funded research projects. The successful candidate will be expected to have a range of interests, be able to work across disciplines, and strengthen and complement existing work within the School to make an outstanding contribution to the field’s advancement through research outputs.

See full advert here: Professor in Artificial Intelligence (Chair) – AC2605LS

Repairing a Commodore PET 4032

Jason Jaques explains the various repairs needed on the Commodore PET 4032 in his YouTube video 

The computer was reported to be exhibiting a troubling screen wobble, an intermittent keyboard, and a broken cassette unit. However, on initial inspection, the unit was actually entirely non-functional. As the machine had been imported from the USA, the computer was expecting a ~117 V, 60 Hz mains supply. When used previously, with a step-down transformer, the screen had shown a significant wobble. Unfortunately, the unit was now entirely dead. Initial exploration indicated that it may have been plugged directly into the UK 240 V 50 Hz supply. Fortunately, while the fuse had been sacrificed, the machine had survived. Once powered up, again with a step-down transformer, the unit’s own power supply was indeed causing significant interference for the built-in display. To resolve the screen wobble, it was eventually decided to replace the transformer with a modern switching power supply. The keyboard suffered from the common hardening of the carbon pads, which made most of the keys inoperable. This was resolved by resurfacing the contacts to restore conductivity. Equally, the cassette unit was brought back to life by a minor repair to an intermittent power connection. Once operational, the unit was “tested” by (among other things) playing a quick round of Satoshi Matsuoka’s Space Invaders, loaded from cassette as demonstrated in this video.

Additional links: Commodore PET Schematics: https://www.zimmers.net/anonftp/pub/c…

Vintage Computer Federation Forums: https://forum.vcfed.org/

MOS 6502 Pinout (by Bill Bertram / Pixel8): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:…