Imperial News

Splunk Supports PhD Talent in Imperial’s Department of Computing

by Mr Ahmed Idle

Splunk’s search for leading-edge research talent spans the globe.

We are proud to announce that with a Splunk donation, the Department of Computing at Imperial College has selected three outstanding students: Toshiko Matsui, Madalina Sas and Christina Karakosta, to be the recipients of Splunk Scholarships for the duration of their PhD research programs. In addition, the donation will support two individual project prizes for excellent undergraduate and masters projects in the areas of data science and machine learning. 

Ms. Matsui will be applying artificial neural network techniques to financial time series data, with an emphasis on predictability and trading strategies in crypto assets. Ms. Sas will use information theory, signal processing, and network science to understand the emergence of self-organizing collective phenomena in complex systems. She will also be building a hardware installation with Raspberry Pi to test some things experimentally not just theoretically. Ms. Karakosta’s research will address the factors that define how networks can promote trust and privacy.  

Clockwise starting from the top left : Toshiko Matsui, William J Knottenbelt, Christina Karakosta, Dawn Manley, and Madalina--Ioana Sas

Dawn Manley, Head of Data Science at Splunk commented:

"Splunk search for leading-edge research talent spans the globe. It is vital for continuously innovating our products and services. We identified the Department of Computing at Imperial College London as having leading expertise in key areas aligned with our mission. Deep research partnerships with universities provide an influx of ideas and perspectives as we advance Splunk’s as the Data-to-Everything Platform. We are thrilled that these three outstanding women have the freedom to push the leading edge of machine learning, network security, trust and privacy as Splunk Scholars. I personally experienced the freedom enabled by a PhD graduate fellowship, and the ability it gave me to design and direct my research program. I am also delighted that Imperial will recognize top undergraduate and masters projects in data science and machine learning.“ 

Director of Industrial Liaison for the Department of Computing, Professor Will Knottenbelt, added:

“We believe that deep engagement with leading technology companies is vital to us remaining at the forefront of technological innovation. Such engagement represents a win-win relationship for our students, the Department and Splunk.” 

Congratulations Toshiko, Madalina, and Christina on joining the Splunk community as Splunk Scholars!