Three ECS Professors join elite group of IEEE Fellows

Three professors in the School of Electronics and Computer Science have been named Fellows of the IEEE.

Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi, Professor Sheng Chen, and Professor Nick Jennings have joined an elite group from around the world who are recognized by the IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) for their unusual distinction in the world of electrical and electronic technology. Their elevation to Fellows of the IEEE follows a rigorous evaluation procedure.

The IEEE is the world’s leading professional association for the advancement of technology. Through its global membership, IEEE is a leading authority on areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics.

Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi is Professor of Computer Engineering in ECS, a member of the Electronic Systems and Devices research group, and a Director of the School’s Pervasive Systems Centre. His research interests are system-on-chip and embedded computing systems with particular focus on low-power design and low-cost test. He is Principal Investigator on the EPSRC platform grant on Electronics Design. He is elevated to Fellowship of the IEEE for his contribution to the design and test of low power integrated circuits and computing systems. ‘The IEEE fellowship means a great deal to me’, he said. ‘It recognizes that my research activities have made a significant and important impact on the scientific community as recognized by my fellow peers.’

Professor Sheng Chen is Professor of Intelligent Systems and Signal Processing and a member of the School’s Communications research group. His research interests are in adaptive signal processing for communications, wireless communications, modelling and identification of nonlinear systems, learning theory and neural networks, finite-precision digital controller design and networked control systems, evolutionary computation methods and optimisation. He is elevated to Fellowship of the IEEE for his contributions to intelligent learning systems and adaptive signal processing for communications. ‘I am naturally very pleased to have this most prestigious honour from the IEEE,’ he said, ‘and my particular gratitude goes to ECS for creating the best research environment I have enjoyed.’

Professor Nick Jennings is Professor of Computer Science in ECS, Head of the Intelligence, Agents, and Multimedia research group, and Associate Dean (Research and Enterprise) of the University’s Faculty of Engineering, Science and Mathematics. He has helped pioneer the application of multi-agent technology, developing some of the first real-world systems He is currently Director of the BAE Systems/EPSRC Strategic Partnership on Decentralised Data and Information Systems. He is elevated to Fellowship of the IEEE for his contributions to multi-agent systems. He said: ‘I am pleased to receive this international recognition for the line of work in decentralised, multi-agent systems that we've been carrying out in Southampton for the past 10 years.’

The Head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science, Professor Harvey Rutt, commented: ‘Not only is this a notable individual recognition of the research contributions of three of the School’s most distinguished professors, but it is an excellent endorsement of the strength of the School’s research and its international reputation, in three areas of fundamental research importance for electronics and computer science.’