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Dr Damien Coyle, lecturer in the School of Computing and Intelligent Systems, Faculty of Computing and Engineering, was in San Jose this week to pick up the International Neural Network Society’s Young Investigator of the Year 2011 award for outstanding contributions in the field of neural networks. Neural networks are mathematical algorithms which are inspired by the way the brain processes information. The award was presented by Prof Ron Sun, president of the International Neural network Society, at the International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN).
Dr Coyle is a member of the Intelligent Systems Research Centre at Magee and is focused on developing neural network based algorithms that can accurately predict and classify information and adapt autonomously to changes in signal and data dynamics. Dr Coyle applies neural networks in biosignal processing applications particularly in the field of brain computer interface (BCI) technology. BCI technology enables people to interact with computers using their brainwaves and has applications in assistive technologies for the physically impaired, rehabilitation after stroke and Guillain Barré syndrome and in non-medical applications such as games and entertainment.
This is the second international award Dr Coyle has received for his world class innovative research. He travelled to Hong Kong 2008 to collect the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society’s Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award at the IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence (WCCI08), presented by the then President of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society, Dr. David Fogel.
Damien said, “I am delighted and honoured to receive the award from the International Neural Network Society (INNS). Both the International Neural Network Society and the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society are the leading societies in the field. It is a humbling experience to have now received prestigious awards from both societies. Thanks to Prof Nik Kasabov, President of the INNS (2009-2010), for nominating me for the Young Investigator award.
Professor Martin McGinnity, Director of the Intelligent Systems Research Centre, commented “Damien is an excellent researcher and I am delighted that he was chosen for this award. His research has always been of a very high standard and I am really pleased that his work has been recognised in this way, at another very prestigious conference. I have observed the progression of Damien’s research since he obtained his PhD and it is great to see him make such rapid progress and in particular to see that his research peers appreciate the tremendous contributions he is making. I look forward to even greater contributions from Damien in the field of computational intelligence in the future.
It is also pertinent to mention that Dr. Kongfatt Wong-Lin, a Research Fellow at the Intelligent Systems Research Centre’s Computational Neuroscience Research Team, scooped the Best Paper award at the same conference. Both these awards illustrate the outstanding, world class research being produced at the Intelligent Systems research Centre and University of Ulster.” |
