Tim Kovacs I left the university in September 2016 but I have an honorary position here until October 2017 and until then at least I can be mailed at Member of the Machine Learning and Biological Computation group and Intelligent Systems Lab [internal stuff]

Miscellaneous

• My publications
• My software
• The Bristol area's Mathematics, Computation and Biology (MCB) Research Initiative
• The Learning Classifier Systems Bibliography
• Viscous Fingers Fractal
• Russell on education
• A page about learning I set up
• Old miscellanea

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Teaching

• COMS M0103: Object Oriented Programming with Java [SAFE pages for COMSM0103 and EMAT20921]
• COMS M0305: Learning in Autonomous Systems
• [Tutees log 2016]

Undergraduate and MSc projects:

• Undergraduate project suggestions
• MSc project suggestions [Staff page]
• MSc project information

Postgraduate Study in Bristol

• Study for an MSc in Machine Learning, Data Mining and High Performance Computing in Bristol
• How to apply for postgraduate study in Bristol and Research interests of staff

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Research Interests

My interests are mainly in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. I'm interested in ways machines can learn without a teacher, so they can do things which I can't, or do them better than I can. Consequently the fields I'm interested in include Reinforcement Learning, Evolutionary Computation, Evolutionary Reinforcement Learning, Learning Classifier Systems and Bio-inspired computing. I'm also interested in Cognitive Science, theories of mind and the application of Computer Science to Biology. (Click here to apply for a PhD place in Bristol.)

Some specific things I'm interested in (but don't necessarily know much about) include:

• hybridising and unifying teacherless learning methods
• playing games like chess, particularly with learning methods
• bio-inspired computing, particularly ways of formalising heuristics
• programming languages, especially visual languages
• applying software engineering to machine learning (and science generally)

Projects include:

• Work on ensembles of learners on the ADEPT project [ADEPT wiki].
• Studying social insect behaviour with James Marshall, Bob Planqué, Nigel Franks and Anna Dornhaus.
  • Our EPSRC-funded Social Insects, Simulated Evolution and Biologically Inspired Algorithms project finished in July 2006.
• Combining reinforcement learning and temporal logic with Rob Egginton.
• Sentiment analysis with David Kirchheimer
• Evolving complex algorithms with Darren Chitty
• Learning Classifier Systems.
  • Work with Manuel Filipe Santos and Wesley Mathew on the Particla project investigating distributed machine learning.
  • My PhD thesis compared XCS's accuracy-based fitness with a more traditional strength-based approach.

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Links

Research

• LCS & GBML Central
• LCS and other GBML. A blog.
• The Learning Classifier Systems Group at the University of the West of England.
• John Holmes' LCS mail alias is for discussion of Learning Classifier Systems.
• COGNIT - Bristol Cognition and Information Technology Research Centre
• Bristol Centre for Behavioural Biology
• BIRO-net The Biologically Inspired Robotics Network.
• NiSIS Nature-inspired Smart Information Systems
• Evonet Website - European Network of Excellence in Evolutionary Computing
• Reinforcement Learning Repository (at the University of Massachusetts).
• Online journals through Bristol library
• Links on how to do research by Toby Walsh and Sylvia Miksch

Other

• Neat news
• Things to do in Bristol and beyond
• BBC or The Weather Channel forecasts for Bristol
• Dictionary.com
• Etymological dictionary
• transportdirect (good for bus routes within Bristol)
• Hospital and University Bus Shuttle
• Number to call if AV equipment doesn't work in a lecture theatre: (92)88288. See also the Learning Facility Management website.
• Bristol IT services help desk
  • Staff Handbook