Expert profiles

The researchers, industry experts, and business development professionals who help deliver data-driven activities and partnerships

Photo of Professor Yvan Petillot who is the joint academic lead of the National Robotarium and Chair of the Robotics and Autonomous Systems theme of the Scottish Research Partnership in Engineering

Professor Yvan Petillot

Professor Yvan Petillot is the joint academic lead of the National Robotarium and Chair of the Robotics and Autonomous Systems theme of the Scottish Research Partnership in Engineering
I’m a professor of robotics and autonomous systems at Heriot-Watt University specialising in field robotics. I have a strong interest in technology transfer and engagement with industry and co-founded SeeByte Ltd in 2001, which is now a world leader in marine autonomy solutions. As Chief Technology Officer for the company until 2010, I coordinated the commercial application of university research.
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Photo of Prof Helen Hastie

Professor Helen Hastie

Professor Helen Hastie is the joint academic lead of the National Robotarium and director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Robotics and Autonomous Systems
I’m a professor of computer science at Heriot-Watt University and my special interest is in human-robot interaction. I’ve worked in both industry and academia and bring this experience to the National Robotarium, where the goal is to establish a strong link between industry and academia, working together closely on joint initiatives.
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Dr Shengan Wang

TRAIN@ED Fellow | Intelligent multiphase flow sensing and big data analysis/ Bottom-Up Developmentof Two-PhaseCooling Technologyfor High-Power-Density Electronics
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions TRAIN@ED Fellow, Data-Driven Innovation Initiative at the University of Edinburgh School of Engineering 
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Dr Kate Miltner

TRAIN@ED Fellow | Understanding the Outcomes and Experiences of Participants in Digital Skills Initiatives
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions TRAIN@ED Fellow, Data-Driven Innovation Initiative at the University of Edinburgh Centre for Research in Digital Education
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Dr Devanjan Bhattacharya

TRAIN@ED Fellow | Collaborative Map Visualizations for Peacebuildling
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions TRAIN@ED Fellow, Data-Driven Innovation Initiative at the University of Edinburgh School of Law and School of Informatics
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Michael Rovatsos

Director of the Bayes Centre
Michael is a specialist in AI techniques that enable people to interact with each other effectively. For over 20 years, he has been developing algorithms that can be used to coordinate the activities of multiple actors in online collaboration platforms, electronic marketplaces, or transportation systems, ensuring they satisfy key ethical objectives such as fairness, transparency, and diversity-awareness. As Director of the Bayes Centre, he has contributed significantly to the University’s tech innovation activities in data science and AI within the Data-Driven Innovation Programme since 2018.
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Michelle Evans

Programme Lead for the Health and Social Care DDI Talent Programme, Usher Institute
My role is in developing the DDI Health and Social Care (HSC) Talent programme in line with City Region Deal aspirations. This includes building data science expertise across the learning spectrum from new students to in-career professionals and lifelong learners.
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Linus Schumacher, a DDI Chancellor's Fellow

Linus Schumacher

DDI Chancellor’s Fellow
Based at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Linus Schumacher is an interdisciplinary scientist who combines biology, physics, and mathematics to study this phenomenon at the cellular level.
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Image of Ben Willianson, a DDI Chancellor's Fellow

Ben Willimson

DDI Chancellor’s Fellow
Dr Williamson’s research focuses on the points at which digital technologies, science and data interact with education policy and governance. These are critical areas in the age of Big Data, given its potential to influence policy and practice from pre-school to post-graduate settings.
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Image of Katie Atkins, a DDI Chancellor's Fellow

Katie Atkins

DDI Chancellor’s Fellow
Having completed her PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 2010, Katie Atkins had a spell at Yale School of Public Health in the USA, working on the dynamics and health economics of infectious disease control measures.
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Image of Dr Colin Snodgrass, a DDI Chancellor's Fellow

Dr Colin Snodgrass

DDI Chancellor’s Fellow
A specialist in comets—those mysterious objects that pass through our solar system on their silent, interplanetary journeys — Dr Snodgrass is part of the European Space Agency team working on the Rosetta Mission.
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Syed Ahmar Shah

DDI Chancellor’s Fellow
Syed Ahmar Shah moved from the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit at the University of Oxford to take up a Chancellor’s Fellowship here in the Usher Institute and Informatics at the University’s Medical School, bringing with him a strong background in biomedical engineering and an impressive track-record in inter-disciplinary projects involving health care professionals, statisticians and fellow engineers.
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