Simon Parkinson

Dr Simon Parkinson is a Reader (Associate Professor) in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Huddersfield and is leading the Centre for Cyber Security. In 2010 he obtained a first-class degree (hons) in Secure and Forensic Computing from the University of Huddersfield and completed his PhD in early 2014. Dr Parkinson’s research interest is in developing intelligent systems for manufacturing and cyber security. This involves his continuing research of developing and utilising artificial intelligence for task automation. His research interests are cyber security focussed as cover aspects such as access control, vulnerability and anomaly detection, learning domain knowledge, mitigation planning, and software tools to aid situation awareness. His research is driven to address to global security skills shortage by equipping non-specialist users with software tools to perform expert-equivalent security analysis. Previous security analysis tools that he has released have in excess of 35k users.

To date, Dr Parkinson has supervised to completion 1 PhD as first supervisor, 2 as second supervisor, 1 Masters by Research as first supervisor, and 1 as second supervisor. He is currently the main supervisor for 5 PhD and 2 Masters by Research students, and is on the supervisory team of a further 3 PhD students. His supervision abilities have been recognised through winning the School’s Supervisor of the Year Award in both 2018 and 2019.

In terms of research funding, he has been the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on projects with a combined income of £0.7million. This includes leading two Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Projects with collaborating SMEs, funding to perform research through Research Council Funding (EPSRC, Digital Catapult), as well as funding to exploit fundamental research and to perform commercial development (Innovate UK, DCMS, KTN). In addition, funding has also been granted to undertake consultancy for different government organisations. The Associate on a KTP project that he supervised recently won the Future Innovator award at the Best of the Best KTP awards 2019.

Dr Parkinson has recently completed a co-edited Springer book entitled Guide to Vulnerability Analysis for Computer Networks and Systems – An Artificial Intelligence Approach. Chapter contributions have been provided by leading researchers from prestigious cyber security research groups from the throughout the US and Europe. More details available here:

https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319926230

Dr Parkinson is also a frequent reviewer for many International Journals as well as serving on conference Programme and Organising Committees. He has also been co-organiser the Scheduling and Planning Applications woRKshop (SPARK) 2016-19, which is part of the prestigious International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS) series, where he also serves on the programme committee. Dr Parkinson was also a co-track chair of the Novel Applications track at ICAPS 2019 in Berkeley, California. 

Dr Parkinson has taught on multiple programming modules at the University of Huddersfield. He has also developed new modules at under- and post-graduate levels and created the new degree pathway of  BSc Computer Science with Cyber Security. In 2018 and 2019 Dr Parkinson has delivered an MSc module in Bahrain as part of the Security Science MSc. He is also an external examiner at both Glasgow Caledonian and Leeds Beckett Universities. Outside of academia, Dr Parkinson is an advisor on the West Yorkshire Police Independent Cyber Security Group. Dr Parkinson has been invited to be provide his expertise on BBC Radio Leeds and also as a panel member and guest speaker at the Yorkshire Enterprise Network yearly conference.

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