Paul Scott

28 Last checked 30 June 2020

Professor Paul Scott has an honours degree in Mathematics and an MSc in Statistics and also a PhD in Statistics with a thesis entitled Multipivital models with applications to a shape fitting problem under the supervision of Dr Rodney Coleman at Imperial College London.

Paul Scott started his career at Taylor Hobson Ltd, Leicester: a world leader in the design and development of ultra-precision metrology instruments for surface texture and form. He spent twenty six years in the research department applying mathematical ideas and concepts to surface texture and form measuring instruments both during the development of instrumentation and post development for mathematical enhancements of the metrological capabilities of instrumentation.

Paul focused his research on why algorithms in surface and form characterisation and instrumentation are quick and stable whilst others are not. Only by going back to mathematical fundamental principles is it possible to discover core factors for determining quick and substantially stable algorithms to solve problems and even to try and generalise the global solution to wider problems. Most of the algorithms he developed, usually being the first in the field, have become the de-facto standard algorithms against which algorithms developed by others are compared.

Paul is also very active in National and International Standardisation for Geometrical Product Specification and Verification (GPS). He is a core member of the BSI Committee TDW4 and convenor of one of its sub-committees TDW4/-/9. Paul Scott is also a leading member of ISO Technical Committee TC/213 being a founder member of its strategic group AG1, a founder member of its technical review group AG2, convenor of working group WG15 on Filtration and Extraction and also convenor of advisory group AG12 on Mathematics for Geometrical Product Specification. He was project leader for twenty published ISO standards and is currently working on four new ISO documents.

In 1995 Paul became a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, working one day a week with the surface metrology group. In 1997 the whole group moved to the University of Huddersfield and became a part of the Centre for Precision Technologies (CPT). In 2001 Paul became the Taylor Hobson Visiting Industrial Professor: working for two days a week at the CPT.

• Foundations of specifying geometrical products
• Foundations of characterising geometrical products
• Stable, Robust, and fast algorithms for computational geometry
• Solving next generation real world industrial/manufacturing problems (Industrie 4.0)
• Development of National and International standards
• Statistical approaches to Uncertainty
• Philosophy of the measurement of geometry

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