New UCL liaison with the Alan Turing Institute

Professor David Pym (UCL Computer Science) has been appointed UCL's University Liaison Director with the Alan Turing Institute (ATI), succeeding Professor Sofia Olhede (UCL Statistical Science). UCL is a founding partner of the ATI, the UK's national data science institute. Its mission is to: undertake data science research at the intersection of computer science, mathematics, statistics and systems engineering provide technically informed advice to policymakers on the wider implications of algorithms enable researchers from industry and academia to work together to undertake research with practical applications act as a magnet for leaders in academia and industry from around the world to engage with the UK in data science and its applications. Professor Pym said: 'The ATI represents not only a major development of the UK's presence in the data sciences, but also a significant opportunity for UCL. I hope that we can encourage engagement with ATI from across the breadth of UCL's activities. 'ATI's scientific mission is inherently highly interdisciplinary: as such, it faces many challenges, including the development of common concepts and languages, the integration of methodologies and cultures, and the identification of shared problems. It also has the opportunity to advance the relationships between the contributing disciplines as it finds solutions to some of the most pressing problems of our times.