Talk

Research Software Group Seminar: talk by Volodymyr Kharchenko

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Tear off calendar Thursday 19th June

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Please join us for a talk at Research Software Group seminar by our guest Dr Volodymyr Kharchenko from the Department of Economic Cybernetics at the Faculty of Information Technologies, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (https://nubip.edu.ua/en).

Talk title: Current research and collaboration opportunities with the Faculty of Information Technologies, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (https://nubip.edu.ua/en)

Abstract: Dr Volodymyr Kharchenko is the Head of the Department of Economic Cybernetics at the Faculty of Information Technologies, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (https://nubip.edu.ua/en). The scientific and innovative work of the faculty focuses on the areas of design, creation and implementation of modern information technologies in society and environmental management, in particular, on the development of methods and information technologies of agromonitoring using satellite image processing systems, the creation of a hybrid cloud-based informational and educational environment of the university, development and introduction of electronic agricultural advisory system of Ukraine, research of methods of processing big data, development of applied information systems in various subject areas. He will present these directions and outline opportunities for potential collaborations.

PGR Seminar – Kyren Fox + Zipei Li

The next PGR seminar is taking place this Friday 13th June at 2PM in JC 1.33a

Below are the Titles and Abstracts for Kyren and Zipei’s talks – Please do come along if you are able.

Kyren Fox

Title: Privacy and Trust on the Web

Abstract: Many web users use content blockers to block ads and privacy invasive trackers from the sites they visit. Due to their increasing popularity and the nature of a web funded by ads and tracking, ad-tech firms have resorted to more and more sophisticated countermeasures to evade these blocks that have created an arms race between the blockers and trackers. Since many content blockers rely on community curated filter-lists that require laborious manual review, combined with the increasingly dynamic obfuscation techniques utilised by trackers to evade these blocks, issues surrounding the scalability of content blockers have arisen.

While many automated solutions have been proposed to assist in blocking unwanted privacy-harming functionality, there is still no comprehensive solution that tackles all privacy-invasive behaviours, avoids breaking legitimate website functionality, and is robust to evasion techniques. Existing solutions all have trade-offs but do not appear to offer the user any control over what trade-off they wish to make. This project will seek to demonstrate that it is possible to give users control over the granularity of trade-off they wish to make that will satisfy the trade-offs in a scalable and robust manner for their use case.

Zipei Li

Title: Understanding the Planning Capabilities and Limitations of LLMs in Blocks World.

Abstract: We investigates the planning capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs) in the symbolic Blocks World domain. While prior work has shown that LLMs often fail to generate correct or executable plans, we shift focus toward understanding the causes of plan failures and identifying the conditions under which LLMs succeed. We evaluate a range of LLMs across problems of varying difficulty and four prompt types with varying degrees of information in natural language. To support this analysis, we introduce a fine-grained failure category spanning Plan, Goal, State, and Action. The analysis deepens our understanding of LLM planning behavior and contributes an empirical framework for diagnosing failure modes, thereby informing the development of more reliable LLM-based planning systems.

PGR Seminar – Lina Hadji-Kyriacou + Victor Yuan

The next PGR seminar is taking place this Friday 30th May at 2PM in JC 1.33a

Below are the Titles and Abstracts for Lina and Victor’s talks – Please do come along if you are able.

Lina Hadji-Kyriacou

Title: Context-PEFT: Efficient Cross-Domain Transfer Learning

Abstract: Parameter-Efficient Fine-Tuning (PEFT) techniques such as LoRA, BitFit and IA3 have demonstrated comparable performance to full fine-tuning of pre-trained models for specific downstream tasks, all while demanding significantly fewer trainable parameters and reduced GPU memory consumption. However, in the context of cross-domain transfer learning, the need for architectural modifications or full fine-tuning often becomes apparent. To address this we propose Context-PEFT, which learns different groups of adaptor parameters based on the current input domain. This approach enables LoRA-like weight injection without requiring additional architectural changes. Our method is evaluated on the COCO captioning task, where it outperforms full fine-tuning under similar data constraints while simultaneously offering a substantially more parameter-efficient and computationally economical solution.

Victor Yuan

Title: Methodologies for Creating Interactive and Lifelike Historical Characters Based on MetaHuman

Abstract: Virtual characters have long held promise as pedagogical tools in heritage education, particularly for creating immersive interactions with historical figures. Researchers have envisioned systems capable of emulating these figures, enabling users to engage in life-like, face-to-face dialogues over time. While technological constraints historically limited such applications, recent advancements in computational graphics and language models have now made them viable. This paper presents a framework for constructing interactive virtual character systems, outlining their core components through two critical dimensions: photorealism and interaction. The photorealism dimension leverages modern graphics tools to achieve high-fidelity visual representation, while the interaction dimension utilizes language models to enable socially believable and contextually responsive dialogue. We examine the necessity of each component and analyze available technological solutions with their respective trade-offs. Beyond the technical framework, we discuss potential future improvements and address ethical and practical concerns inherent to such systems. By synthesizing current technologies and their applicability, this work provides institutions with practical guidance for developing customized interactive systems that balance functionality with cost-efficiency.

EDI Talk: Why Do We Need Diversity in Research Software Engineering

On Thursday 22nd May the EDI committee hosted a talk on “Why Do We Need Diversity in Research Software Engineering?” by the Software Sustainability Institute Fellows Deborah Udoh (OLS) https://www.software.ac.uk/fellowship-programme/deborah-udoh and Olexandr Konovalov (St Andrews) https://www.software.ac.uk/fellowship-programme/olexandr-konovalov. On display we had a collection of posters designed by students to promote and raise awareness of EDI aspects, and celebrate cultural differences in the School and in our discipline. This was accompanied by coffee and cakes.

This talk was the story of two members of the global research software community whose paths converged thanks to the Software Sustainability Institute. One a Ukrainian mathematician and computer scientist in Scotland, the other a Nigerian nurse in tech – they are from vastly different backgrounds, but share more in common than meets the eye, and have already begun to shape an inclusive future for researchers from all walks of life.

Through lived experiences, they explored the real-world barriers they faced – from underrepresentation and visa limitations to the invisible weight of imposter syndrome — and the communities and infrastructures that helped them keep going: OLS, the Carpentries, and the SSI.

They spoke of using their platforms to build better pathways into research and research software engineering, especially for those who never imagined they belonged in these spaces, and how institutions, allies, and community members play an active role in creating more equitable, mentally healthy spaces — and why your involvement matters.

PGR Seminar with Thomas Martin + Charis Hanna

The next PGR seminar is taking place this Friday 23rd May at 2PM in JC 1.33a

Below are the Titles and Abstracts for Thomas and Charis’ talks – Please do come along if you are able.

Thomas Martin

Title: From Isolated to Continuous Automated Sign Language Recognition

Abstract: Sign languages are full-fledged visual natural languages combining manual and non-manual features. As the name suggests, Automated Sign Language Understanding (ASLU) aims to automate tasks involving sign language. A primary obstacle to ASLU is the creation of appropriate datasets. Indeed, most datasets focus on materials gathered from TV broadcasts covering limited topics, which fail to accurately reflect sign language in the wild. Moreover, annotating such datasets is a prohibitively costly process. With the end goal of Sign Language Translation (written/spoken language to sign language) in mind, ASLU research has transitioned from Isolated to Continuous Sign Language Recognition. However, sign language intricacies have made this transition non-trivial.

Charis Hanna

Title: Enhancing Deep Learning Approaches for the Automated Monitoring of Dense Seabird Colonies

Abstract: Cliff-nesting birds serve as valuable indicators of marine ecosystem health, yet dense populations and remote habitats present significant challenges for automated monitoring. With current state-of-the-art object detectors often failing under the conditions of extreme crowding and occlusion, this project aims to develop and refine deep learning techniques that enable the fine-grained, automated analysis of seabird colonies. Current work explores semi-supervised learning strategies that leverage domain-shifted knowledge to reduce the need for exhaustive annotation across complex image datasets. These methods not only reduce the laborious process of manual annotation but also demonstrate promising improvements in performance across the long-tailed species distribution. While ongoing efforts are directed at further optimising these models, future work will leverage additional spatial information with the aim of supporting richer insights into behavioural dynamics within these populations.

PGR Seminar with Tilcia Woodville-price + Thu Nguyen

The next PGR seminar is taking place this Friday 16th May at 2PM in JC 1.33a

Below are the Titles and Abstracts for Tilcia and Thu’s talks – Please do come along if you are able.

Tilcia Woodville-price

Title: Definitely, Maybe? Communicating Uncertainty In Medicine

Abstract: An inherent aspect of healthcare and data science alike, uncertainty is present at every step of data utilisation, including its collection, analysis and dissemination. Accounting for and disclosing uncertainty is an ongoing challenge faced by many disciplines. In medicine, effective communication of uncertainty is essential for shared decision-making, with important considerations surrounding the user (patients, clinicians, policymakers), the underlying information, and the means of communicating it (data visualisation). Current medical research has focused on risk communication, often failing to evaluate more complex aspects of uncertainty. In contrast, the information visualisation community has more widely researched uncertainty visualisation in other domains, but insights remain limited regarding best practice. This interdisciplinary research aims to empirically assess different forms of visualising uncertainty in medicine, evaluate how user characteristics influence comprehension, and explore new forms of communicating it through data-driven storytelling.

Thu Nguyen

Title: Multimorbidity Dynamics in Scotland: Health inequality and Trajectories in chronic disease accrual and mortality across the lifespan

Abstract: Multimorbidity – the co-occurrence of two or more chronic diseases – is a growing global concern, and is associated with higher risk of mortality, worse quality of life and substantial financial burden. About one third of the world’s population has multimorbidity. Care for multimorbid patients in the UK accounts for more than 55% of NHS costs and 75% of primary care prescription costs. The focus of multimorbidity epidemiology so far has largely been on the static clustering of diseases through cross-sectional analyses, with less emphasis on the trajectories of disease onset and the sequence in which conditions develop. Understanding the order in which diseases occur and its impact on patient outcomes can help identify high-risk trajectories and aid healthcare resource planning by identifying target populations for preventive interventions, ultimately leading to earlier diagnosis and management. Using linked electronic health records (EHRs) on 858789 individuals (2005-2021), this study aims to employ multistate modelling to explore the dynamics of multimorbidity trajectories, measure chronic disease accrual, incorporating social factors to unveil the health inequality in Scotland.

Research Software Group Lunchtime Seminar – Friday 23rd May

There will be a Research Software Group Lunchtime Seminar on Friday May 23rd at 1pm, in room 1.33B.

Talk Title: “People First: Sustaining Research Software by Sustaining the People Who Build It”

Speakers are Software Sustainability Institute Fellows: Deborah Udoh (OLS) and Olexandr Konovalov (St Andrews)

– https://www.software.ac.uk/fellowship-programme/deborah-udoh

– https://www.software.ac.uk/fellowship-programme/olexandr-konovalov

Abstract

What does it mean to build sustainable research software—and sustainable research software communities?

Too often, sustainability is framed in terms of clean code, reproducibility, funding and long-term maintenance. But sustainability is also about people: who gets to stay, who gets to lead, and who burns out or leaves before their potential is fully realised.

This talk invites us to look beyond technical best practices and consider the human infrastructure that truly sustains research software: the developers, contributors, maintainers, and collaborators who often work in the margins of recognition. We’ll explore how issues like burnout, impostor syndrome, and lack of psychological safety threaten not just individual wellbeing, but the continuity and health of the software ecosystems we care about.

Using real-world examples from both academic and open-source contexts, we’ll share practices and small culture shifts that have helped sustain people in research software roles.

This session will include a short, interactive exercise where participants will reflect on their own sustainability needs, and collectively brainstorm people-first practices for healthier RSE communities.

PGR Seminar with Duong Phuc Tai Nguyen + Thomas Metcalfe

The next PGR seminar is taking place this Friday 9th May at 2PM in JC 1.33a

Below are the Titles and Abstracts for Duong and Tom’s talks – Please do come along if you are able.

Duong Phuc Tai Nguyen

Title: Enhancing Dynamic Algorithm Configuration via Theory-guided Benchmarks.

Abstract: Algorithms play a vital role in numerous domains, ranging from machine learning to optimization and simulation. Developing an algorithm typically requires making multiple design choices and fine-tuning parameters, a process that can be both labor-intensive and complex. This project seeks to automate this process by employing machine learning techniques, particularly deep reinforcement learning (deep-RL). By leveraging theoretical insights from evolutionary computation, we establish new benchmarks to assess RL methods for dynamic algorithm configuration and propose enhancement techniques to increase their effectiveness

Thomas Metcalfe

Title: Listening to Rhythms: Exploring Human-Phenology Attunement through Research Products and Decentralised Computing

Abstract: Humanity and the planet are in an epoch of ecological breakdown. Modern technological cultures have severed human awareness from the living rhythms of more-than-human worlds. This research explores how decentralised, situated technologies might foster embodied attunement between humans and the phenological rhythms of place.

This seminar is a work-in-progress. 7 months into his PhD, Tom will present his journey and current thinking on the foundations and potential direction of his project. You can expect to hear how he’s trying to shift research paradigms; the profound change in the project’s onto-epistemological perspectives; and how he hopes to make a contribution to the design and HCI communities.