One of the world's most distinguished computer scientists has won a prestigious engineering award this week.

Professor Nick Jennings, Imperial’s Vice Provost (Research), has been recognised by his peers at the Collaborate to Innovate Awards. Organised by The Engineer - the UK’s longest running engineering publication - the Awards were aimed at identifying some of the UK’s most impressive and innovative examples of engineering collaboration.

Professor Jennings, along with his colleagues, took the top prize in the data and connectivity category for the ORCHID project. He was the Principal Investigator on the ORCHID project while he was Regius Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton.

Professor Jennings and the ORCHID team celebrate winning their award

The ORCHID project tackled one of the key challenges in modern computer science – how humans and intelligent software systems can function together in a seamless and effective manner. The overall aim was to make sense of the volume, variety and constant stream of data that is available today from a myriad of resources such as phones, computers and sensors.

The team on the project directly trained and employed fifty researchers and PhD students, spawning thirty follow-on projects worth £15 million. It also established a new multi-disciplinary research community and initiated a range of start-up companies including one that developed a device that provides users with a thermal analysis of their house to reduce their energy consumption. 

Professor Jennings said: “I think awards like this one sheds light on what can be achieved in large, multi-faceted collaborations. They show the value of this type of research and the way in which close collaborations with users can really shorten the cycles from research to impact. This award recognises the efforts of all involved, which is particularly valuable for early career researchers and PhD students, as it provides a signal that they’ve worked in successful and impactful projects.”

“We had a number of events to celebrate the end of the project and receiving this recognition at the ceremony will provide another opportunity to bring the team together again, which I am looking forward to.”