Curriculum Vitae

Download Full CV (PDF)

Academic Positions
Feb 2023 – Present

Assistant Professor

University of Birmingham

  • Leading research in Verification, Security and AI
  • Secured over £1.3M in grants as PI (EPSRC, DSTL, Innovate UK, ARIA)
  • Supervising 4 PhD students and 11 research assistants
  • QS Lead and Director of PGR Experience
Dec 2020 – Feb 2023

Research Associate

University of Edinburgh

Security and verification of autonomous systems. Output: Q1 journal, two core-ranked conferences (A and B), internationally recognised research tool.

Jan – May 2022

University Teacher (Part-time)

University of Edinburgh

Module Leader for MSc Secure Programming. 100% Strongly Agree ratings. Won Informatics Staff Award.

Aug 2021 – Dec 2022

Visiting Scholar (Part-time)

Heriot-Watt University

Research and co-supervision of MSc projects on autonomous systems. Media interviews and showcase at Edinburgh Science Festival.

Industry Experience
Jul 2025 – Present

Founder & Director

Zeroth Research

AI Safeguarding startup, grant-funded through ARIA. Building verification stack for AI systems with formal proof certificates.

Jul 2022 – Feb 2023

Security Research Consultant

DSTL (via BAE Systems)

Consulting in software protection via automated rewriting.

Aug – Dec 2018

Research Intern

ARM, Ltd. – Cambridge

First formal model of ACE-OAuth implementation using Tamarin. Designated Expert for IETF ACE Working Group.

Aug – Nov 2017

Research Intern

ARM, Ltd. – Cambridge

Threat modelling and risk assessment for firmware update protocols in IoT. Proposed novel scheme to protect against update reuse.

Education
Oct 2016 – Dec 2020

PhD in Computer Science

Newcastle University

Thesis: "A Methodology for the Quantitative Evaluation of Attacks and Mitigations in IoT Systems". Industry partner: ARM Ltd. Supervisor: Dr. C. Morisset.

Sep 2013 – Jun 2016

BSc Hons in Computer Science, 1st Class

Newcastle University

Dissertation: "Feature Engineering for an Industrial Data Mining Challenge". Industry partner: XACT Ltd.

Selected Grants (~£1.3M)
Jul 2025

Infrastructure for Safeguarded AI Systems

ARIA Safeguarded AI Grant · PI · £994,552

Verification stack for AI systems with formal proof certificates combining SMT, BnB, and ITP methods.

Nov 2025

Unified Framework for SNNs in Defence

DSTL · PI · £150,000

Theoretical and practical framework for certifying and deploying Spiking Neural Networks in defence environments.

Jan 2026

Zero Knowledge Attestation for AI Security

Foresight Research · PI · $161,376

Formal verification of AI models running on trusted enclaves for accountability in critical environments.

Oct 2025

Formal Certification Technologies for AI Safety

Manifund Grants · Co-PI · $128,000

Formal proof certificates for complex specifications defining safety of probabilistic cyber-physical systems.

Oct 2024

HackRoom – Unlock Your Cyber Skills to Escape

Innovate UK Cyber Local · Academic PI · £80,497

Immersive cybersecurity escape rooms for practical skills development.

Selected Invited Talks
Jul 2025

Towards Verifiable NLP – Keynote

Symposium on AI Verification, Zagreb

May 2025

Cybersecurity in the Age of Responsible AI

Responsible AI Lab, London

Nov 2024

Verification Seminars & AIHS Seminars

Oxford & Durham Universities

Feb 2024

Future of AI – Invited Expert

UK-Canada Frontiers of Science, Ottawa

Mar 2019

Designing a Secure Protocol Using Formal Methods

OAuth Security Workshop, Stuttgart · 4-hour Tutorial

Awards & Service
2022

Informatics Staff Award

University of Edinburgh

For teaching Secure Programming MSc.

2021 – Present

Organisation Committee Chair

UK-SPS: Cyber Security & Privacy Seminar Series

2024 – Present

Program / Artifact Committee Member

CAV, LREC/COLING, SAC, ICCPS, PETS

2018

1st Place – Action for Impact Competition

EPSRC · Designing Sustainable Smart Cities