Highly acclaimed industrial research scientist Nader Azarmi has been appointed as a Visiting Professor to the Computer Science Research Institute and the School of Computing and Information Engineering.

Professor Azarmi is currently a Chief Technologist and the Head of Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation within BT Group at their world famous laboratories at Adastral Park in Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, UK.

He joined BT in December 1989, starting his R&D work on the application of AI technology to BT's telecommunications network management and next generation work management systems.

Professor Azarmi went on to create and pioneer BT's highly successful Intelligent Systems research and development programme covering optimisation, scheduling, agent, soft and evolutionary computing.

Over the past two years he has been working in close collaboration with Professor Gerard Parr, Chair in Telecommunications Engineering, on the development and roll out of the India-UK Advanced Technology Centre (IU-ATC) of Excellence in Next Generation Networks Systems and Services.

Professor Azarmi has been instrumental in shaping the IU-ATC's vision and consortium, and bringing together the industrial support and providing strategic guidance and advice for the collaborators and both India and UK governments in the initiative.

He is also the key link for the recently awarded BT EPSRC PhD CASE studentships to Ulster, which form part of the IU-ATC initiative. Professor Azarmi has many collaborations around the world, covering institutions and companies in the USA, (e.g. University of Berkeley), Middle East (EBTIC - ETISALAT BT Innovation Centre), India and UK, and he regularly provides strategic advice to senior figures in governmentand industry.

He has been awarded a number of international and national awards for his work and numerous BT technical awards, and has authored many technical papers, as well as editing and publishing a number of technical journals and scientific books. He has also published several international patents.

 Prior to joining BT, he spent many years of his academic life as a researcher and (senior) lecturer at Essex, Kingston and London universities.

Director of the Computer Science Research Institute, Professor Bryan Scotney, said: "We are delighted to have Professor Azarmi joining us: collaborations with him have already had outstanding impact for our Institute in terms of research developments and initiatives, and this appointment takes our research engagement with the telecommunications industry to a world-leading level."

In his new role at Ulster, Professor Azarmi will continue to develop and support the existing and future collaborations with Professor Parr and colleagues and will also provide mentoring and advice to PhD students.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office, Department of Communication and Development
Tel: 028 9036 6178
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