Colin's Research Page!

Note: this page is somewhat out-of-date at present. I haven't had time to put up recent papers, hopefully I will get the opportunity to do so in the next few weeks. A slightly more up-to-date list is available from my home page.

This page describes some areas of research interest, and links to some papers that I've written. If you're interested in these things then email me and I'll bring you more up-to-date on what I'm currently working on.

There exist hypertext links to some of the publications. If you can't download these and would like me to send paper copies then let me know. I am going to attempt to produce PDF versions of the postscript files Real Soon Now.

Genetic Algorithms and Evolutionary Computing

Evolutionary processes are a fecund source of inspiration to researchers in computing. The patterns of adaptation driven by natural selection are a useful analogy for searching a complex search space.

Publications and Seminars

Understanding complex systems through examples: a framework for qualitative example finding, International Journal of Systems Research and Information Science, in the press, 2002.
Static fitness measures in genetic programming, Proceedings of the 2002 European Conference on Genetic Programming.
Finding diverse examples with genetic algorithms. In Robert John and Ralph Birkenhead, editors, Developments in Soft Computing, Advances in Soft Computing, pages 92-99. Physica/Springer-Verlag, July 2001.
Exploring knot-space with genetic algorithms, Late-Breaking poster paper, Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference, July 2000.
Finding diverse examples using genetic algorithms, Recent Advances in Soft Computing, Leicester, June 2000.
Understanding complex systems through examples, Complex Intelligent Systems Workshop, Kingston University, May 2000.
The birds, the bees and the NPVs : the use of biologically inspired computing in management accounting, (with Magdy Abdel-Kader, University of Exeter), preprint, 1999.
Evolution everywhere : the application of genetic algorithms in knot theory and sound synthesis, seminar, Exeter University, May 1999.
Exploring the sound-space of synthesis algorithms using interactive genetic algorithms, Proceedings of the AISB Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Musical Creativity, Edinburgh, Easter 1999.
A preliminary version of the program described in the above paper.
Evolutionary computing : interdisciplinary curriculum challenges, talk a Rococo workshop on Future Developments in Computer Science Curricula, University of Exeter, July 1998.

Agent technology, affective computing, media computing.

Publications and Seminars

Affectively tunable environments for the virtual stage, abstract for a talk at the Digital Scenography conference, University of Kent, July 2000.
Design precepts for incorporating affect into intelligent virtual agents (with Gareth Jones, University of Exeter), preprint, May 2000.
Effecting affective communications in virtual environments (with Gareth Jones, University of Exeter), Proceedings of the Second Workshop on Intelligent Virtual Agents, Salford, September 1999.

Mathematical and Computational Biology
Biology is a source of a huge number of interesting mathematical and theoretical ideas, requiring the use of many new techniques and recent mathematical developments.
Publications and seminars

Individual-based simulation of the clustering behaviour of epidermal growth factor receptors (with Jacki P. Goldman, William J. Gullick and Dennis Bray) In Gary Lamont, editor, Proceedings of the 2002 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing. ACM Press, March 2002.
Between-host evolution of mutation rate and within-host evolution of virulence, Proceedings of the Third German Workshop of Artificial Life, Harri Deutsch Verlag, Bochum, September 1998.
Mutation for Mutation susceptibility, abstract for a talk given at the 1998 IMA conference on mathematics in medicine and biology, Oxford, July 1998.
The effect of population structure on the evolution of virulence (with Mark Broom, Joel Peck, John Haigh and John Maynard Smith, Univeristy of Sussex). This is an unfunded research proposal from 1998 which contains some ideas that I think are worth exploring further.
Optimality of certain uneven parental investment strategies in birds, paper given at the Pauling Human Sciences Centre, University of Oxford, July 1996, part of the IMA conference on Mathematics of Biological Systems. (under revision for journal resubmission following referees comments)

Computer-Aided Design and Computer Graphics.
Here are a few papers and talks about computer aided design and that sort of thing, mainly a project I was involved in concerned with modelling mechanical systems within a CAD environment.
Publications and seminars

Phase transitions in mulit-robot systems, British Mobile Robotics Conference 2001.
(with Duncan Marsh, Napier University) Modelling Robot Manipulators using Multivariate B-splines, Robotica, May 1999, pages 239--248.
(with Duncan Marsh, Napier University) Programming Robot Manipulators using Freeform Design, Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Belgium, May 1998.
Multivariate B-splines for modelling robot manipulator workspace, talk to the 4th International Conference on Mathematical Methods for Curves and Surfaces, Norway, 1997.
(with Duncan Marsh, Napier University) Modelling Robot Manipulators in a CAD Environment Using B-Splines , reprint from the IEEE Symposium on Intelligence and Systems, Washington DC, November 1996.
Geometric Methods in Robotics, talk given to the Napier University Research Conference, January 1996, (abstract).
Geometrical Models of Robot Manipulators, seminar, Napier University Mathematics Department, Decemeber 1995.
The Geometry of Path-Planning, talk to the Edinburgh Mathematical Society meeting on Applied Mathematics at the Burn House, Edzell, May 1995.

Low-dimensional Topology
I have been interested in topology for a long time, and occasionally get the chance to tinker with some of these ideas. I am particularly interested in low-dimensional topology---the study of topology in dimensions three and four, i.e. large enough to allow interesting things to happen, small enough to prevent those things failing to happen.
Publications and seminars

Counterexample finding in topology by evolutionary search, in preparation.
A program to convert from Dowker-Thistlethwaite to braid notations of knots, in preparation (almost finished!)
Alternating, almost-alternating or merely adequate?? Some thoughts on knot classification, talk for the Edinburgh Mathematical Society meeting at the Burn House, Edzell, May 1997.
A twisted tale (of knot theory, supercoiling and nineteenth century chemistry), seminar, Heriot-Watt University, February 1996 (abstract)

Education.

Publications and seminars

"What we need is notions not notations"?---thoughts on aims and objectives in learning, seminar, University of Kent, January 2000.
Proof by Induction without Heavy Algebra, preprint, 1999.
Objects and programming, workshop at the Exeter science Inset teacher-training day, July 1999.

Music.

Publications and seminars

Some notes on Group Composition, written for a booklet on the subject being prepared by Contemporary Music-Making for Amateurs.
See also my compositions list.
Charivari
Various oddments that discuss things of interest to me---the "history and sociology" of my research life rather than the reality.
Publications and seminars

Average Ignorance: some thoughts on multiple-choice questionairres, Mathematics in School, March 1998.
Some thoughts on multibase arithmetic Mathematics in School, November 1997.
The MMath degree and research student funding, London Mathematical Society newsletter, March 1997.
Whither Journals, electronic research communication in a weird wired world, London Mathematical Society newsletter, December 1996.

Colin G. Johnson

C.G.Johnson@ukc.ac.uk