Invited Speakers

https://www.rau.ac.uk/about/organisation/staff/dr-nicola-cannon

Nicola Cannon is Associate Professor of Agriculture at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester specialising in agronomy. Her portfolio ranges from teaching, research and programme management of the MSc in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Supply. Her research is strongly focused on finding sustainable solutions to improve the cropping sector. Recent research projects include non-chemical weed control techniques, bicropping, improving legume growing systems, hemp for fibre and soil carbon credit in cropping systems. Nicola designed and managed a fully replicated large-scale long-term experiment which has now is now in its twelfth growing season. This cultivation and crop establishment trial is recognised as a major asset providing evidence in helping develop agricultural policy. Nicola has a wide range of external roles including vice Chair of the Soil Association Farmers and Growers Board, a member of the Soil Association Standards Board, on the steering group for Agricology, vice chair of the western region Tropical Agriculture Association, a reviewer for UKRI Innovate UK research bids, reviewer for Irish Research Council bids and involved in a many other agricultural associations. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies of England, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a Nuffield Scholar. Previously she has co-ordinated and run HRH Prince of Wales Food and Farming Summer School and worked with celebrity chefs on food to fork projects.

https://nms.kcl.ac.uk/peter.mcburney/

Peter McBurney is Professor of Computer Science and former Head of the Department of Informatics in the Faculty of Natural and Mathematical Sciences of King's College London, UK. He is a member of the Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI) Research Group of the Department.

McBurney's primary areas of research are in AI and Computational Finance, including: Distributed ledgers, blockchain, smart contracts, cryptocurrencies, and ICOs; AI applied to knowledge-intensive, regulated domains (law, finance, insurance, etc); and agent communications protocols and agent-based simulation.