Predictive Modelling » Seminars

27/04 1pm-2pm: WCPM: Savvaki Savva, Morgan Advanced Materials

James Kermode — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:22:49 GMT

When: 1pm - 2pm, Mon, 27 Apr '26

Where: L5, Science Concourse

Networking Lunch: Outside L5, from 12:30pm - 1pm.

Title: Modelling in Industry: Case Studies from Ceramics Manufacturing at Morgan

Abstract: This seminar presents an industrial perspective on modelling through a selection of case studies from ceramics manufacturing at Morgan. I will begin with a brief introduction to Morgan and my role within its modelling activities, providing context on how modelling fits into a broader industrial R&D and manufacturing environment. The main focus of the talk will be two modelling projects, chosen to illustrate the different roles models can play in industrial decision‑making. Rather than emphasizing technical detail, the discussion will highlight how these projects were framed, the constraints under which the modelling was carried out, and some of the practical challenges encountered, including data limitations, uncertainty, and trade‑offs between model fidelity and usability. The aim is to give an insight into how modelling research projects typically operate in industry, and how this differs from an academic setting.

Bio: Savvaki Savva is a Senior Materials Scientist at Morgan Advanced Materials, with extensive experience in the ceramics and advanced materials industry. Her work focuses on research and development, with particular expertise in additive manufacturing, materials chemistry, and process optimisation.

Savvaki has built a strong career translating fundamental materials science into industrial applications. Since joining Morgan Advanced Materials in 2017, she has progressed from Materials Scientist to Senior Materials Scientist, contributing to the development and improvement of high-performance ceramic materials and manufacturing processes.

She previously worked at Doncasters Precision Castings, where she specialised in process control and materials troubleshooting within ceramic core and shell systems, driving process improvements in an industrial production environment.

Savvaki completed her PhD in Materials Chemistry at the University of Birmingham, where her research focused on developing novel materials for the removal of strontium from nuclear waste. Her work explored ion exchange materials, bridging academic research with real-world nuclear industry challenges, including collaboration with the National Nuclear Laboratory.

With a strong foundation across chemistry, physics, and materials science, Savvaki brings a practical, industry-focused perspective to advanced materials research and innovation.

11/05 1pm-2pm: WCPM: Samuel Cooper, Imperial

James Kermode — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:46:03 GMT

When: 1pm - 2pm, Mon, 11 May '26

Where: L5, Science Concourse

Networking Lunch: Outside L5, from 12:30pm - 1pm.

Title: Small Features, Big Impact: Designing at the Microscale with Generative AI

Abstract: The microscale features of porous battery electrodes strongly influence how fast they charge and how long they last. These features are governed by manufacturing parameters such as temperature and pressure, yet the relationship between processing and the resulting microstructure remains extremely difficult to predict using physics-based simulations. In this talk, I will demonstrate how generative AI tools, developed by my team at Imperial College London, have unlocked powerful new capabilities for microstructural characterisation and design, such as the generation of 3D data from a single 2D image. I will also share our work on a new workflow for the characterisation and simulation of graded electrodes, which are common in commercial cells. Finally, I will present my teams most recent work on vision and language foundation models, in particular exploring who they conceptualise scientific concepts and how they can be used in agentic workflows.

Bio: Dr Sam Cooper leads the TLDR group at Imperial College London who focus on the application of AI to materials science. Recently publications have focused on the use of generative AI to create 3D microstructural data from a 2D image [1], conditionalized models to map processing parameters to the microstructure of battery electrodes [2], and the representation of scientific concepts inside LLMs [3]. Dr Cooper was recently awarded a £2M EPSRC Open Plus Fellow in AI for Materials Science with Deep Reproducibility. In 2024 he spun-out a company, www.polaron.ai, to bring IP developed at Imperial to manufacturers around the world. Polaron were the winners of the inaugural Manchester prize and recently raised an $8M seed round. In 2017, Dr Cooper created the online course “Mathematics for Machine Learning” on Coursera which has since been taken by over 700,000 learners.

[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s42256-021-00322-1

[2] https://www.cell.com/matter/fulltext/S2590-2385(24)00446-6

[3] https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/dd/d5dd00374a

18/05 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Paddy Royall, ��TV

James Kermode — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 08:49:53 GMT

When: 1pm - 2pm, Mon, 18 May '26

Where: L5, Science Concourse

Networking Lunch: Outside L5, from 12:30pm - 1pm.

Title: TBC

Abstract: TBC

Bio: TBC

01/06 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Thomasina Ball, ��TV

James Kermode — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 08:53:38 GMT

When: 1pm - 2pm, Mon, 01 Jun '26

Where: L5, Science Concourse

Networking Lunch: Outside L5, from 12:30pm - 1pm.

Title: TBC

Abstract: TBC

Bio: Research Interests:

Thomasina's research interests lie in mathematical modelling of fluid dynamical phenomena from observations of laboratory experiments and the natural world around us. In particular she is interested in the areas of: non-Newtonian rheologies, yield stress fluids, gravity-driven flow, geophysical flows, instabilities that arise from rheology contrasts, fluid-structure interactions.

Most relevant recent publications:

Ball, T. V. & Balmforth, N. J. (2025) Non-axisymmetric patterns in floating viscoplastic films. J. Fluid Mech. 1007.

Ribinskas, E., Ball, T. V., Penney, C. E., & Neufeld, J. A. (2024) Scraping of a viscoplastic fluid to model mountain building. J. Fluid Mech.

See her Publications page for a full list with preprints: /fac/sci/maths/people/staff/tball/

08/06 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Kevin Huang, ��TV

James Kermode — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 08:58:28 GMT

When: 1pm - 2pm, Mon, 08 Jun '26

Networking Lunch: Outside L5, from 12:30pm - 1pm.

Title: TBC

Abstract: TBC

Bio: Kevin is a postdoctoral research fellow funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through the ProbAI Hub. They are currently based at the University of ��TV, working with Gareth Roberts, and collaborate with Boris Hanin at Princeton University.

They completed a PhD in machine learning at the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, under the supervision of Peter Orbanz and Morgane Austern. During this time, they were also a visiting researcher with the LIPS group at Princeton Computer Science, hosted by Ryan P. Adams. Prior to this, they completed both their undergraduate and master’s degrees in mathematics at the University of Cambridge.

Their research lies at the intersection of machine learning theory, probability, and statistics. They study the emergence of universal structures in large-scale stochastic systems, drawing on tools from random matrix theory, high-dimensional statistics, symmetry-based inference, and stochastic optimisation. Alongside this theoretical work, they increasingly engage with applied challenges, particularly around scaling laws in neural networks, AI for scientific discovery, and the robustness and safety of machine learning models.

For the 2025–2026 academic year, he is co-organising the ProbAI online seminar series and will lead the ProbAI Theory of Scaling Laws Workshop at ��TV in summer 2026.

15/06 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Sam Livingstone, UCL

James Kermode — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:02:17 GMT

When: 1pm - 2pm, Mon, 15 Jun '26

Networking Lunch: Outside L5, from 12:30pm - 1pm.

Title: TBC

Abstract: TBC

Bio: Sam is an associate professor at University College London (UCL). In his research he uses tools from probability and mathematical analysis to study algorithms in Statistics and Machine Learning. The field is often called CSML. He can also do some more methodological work in probabilistic modelling, particularly for health applications (see his research page for more).https://samueljlivingstone.wixsite.com/webpage

He currently serves as associate editor for the journal Biometrika. Until Oct 2024 he held an EPSRC New Investigator Award entitled 'Robust and scalable Markov chain Monte Carlo for heterogeneous models'. In 2021he became the first UK recipient of the Blackwell--Rosenbluth award from the International Society for Bayesian Analysis.

He joined the department of Statistical Science in January 2018, after a postdoc at the University of Bristol, under Christophe Andrieu, as part of the i-like project, and before that a PhD at UCL, supervised by Mark Girolami and Alex Beskos.

He believes in Stigler's law of eponymy, and that the concept of multiple discovery/simultaneous invention is more closely aligned with the reality of scientific research than the heroic theory of invention that is dominant in popular culture. That being said, I still have a romantic view of academic life and strive for originality in his work. You can understand some of his thoughts on research from this podcast episode: Betancourting Disaster Round 13: Transitioning Between Statistical Theory and Practice | Patreon.

22/06 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Ludovic Berthier, ESPCI

James Kermode — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:05:12 GMT

When: 1pm - 2pm, Mon, 22 Jun '26

Networking Lunch: Outside L5, from 12:30pm - 1pm.

Title: TBC

Abstract: TBC

Bio: Ludovic Berthier is a Directeur de Recherche at the CNRS, based at the Laboratoire Gulliver at ESPCI Paris. He is an internationally recognised leader in statistical physics, specialising in the theory and simulation of complex, disordered systems.

His research spans a wide range of topics at the intersection of physics and materials science, including non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, soft matter and complex fluids, and the physics of supercooled liquids and glasses. He has made particularly influential contributions to understanding the glass transition, amorphous solids, and jamming phenomena, as well as emerging areas such as active and biological matter.

Ludovic’s work combines theoretical insight with advanced computational methods to uncover universal behaviours in high-dimensional and disordered systems. He has authored numerous high-impact publications in leading journals such as Nature Materials, Physical Review Letters, Physical Review X, and PNAS, and has contributed to major review articles shaping the field, including on yielding in amorphous solids and machine learning approaches to glassy systems.

Through his research, he continues to push the boundaries of how we understand and design complex materials, both in and out of equilibrium. Find out more here: https://ludovicberthier.github.io/

29/06 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Loïc Lannelongue, Cambridge

James Kermode — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:54:17 GMT

When: 1pm - 2pm, Mon, 29 Jun '26

Networking Lunch: Outside L5, from 12:30pm - 1pm.

Title: The (environmental) sustainability challenge of modern computing & AI

Abstract: From genetic studies and astrophysics simulations to AI, scientific computing has enabled amazing discoveries—and there's no doubt it will continue to do so. At the same time, the resource usage (energy, water) and environmental impacts of digital (research) infrastructures are becoming impossible to ignore given the urgency of the climate crisis. So what can we all do about it? And as scientists, should we even be thinking about this? We'll break down how computing activities impact the environment, debate our collective responsibility to tackle it, and discuss the latest efforts of the Cambridge Sustainable Computing Lab to empower researchers to understand and mitigate their environmental impacts. Through the lens of the GREENER principles for environmentally sustainable science, we'll explore the challenges the research community needs to overcome to create real change in this space. It will also be a chance to highlight how the Green DiSC certification framework can support scientists and institutions in making their research more sustainable.

Bio: Dr Loïc Lannelongue is an Assistant Research Professor in Computer Science at the University of Cambridge, where he also serves as Bye-Fellow and Director of Studies in Computer Science (Part II) at Jesus College Cambridge. His work sits at the intersection of computing, sustainability, and responsible innovation.

Dr Lannelongue specialises in environmentally sustainable computing, with a particular focus on understanding and reducing the environmental impact of modern computational practices, including artificial intelligence. His research takes a multi-faceted approach, combining technical development, behavioural insights, and policy engagement to drive more sustainable scientific workflows.

His academic interests include developing tools to monitor and reduce the carbon footprint of scientific computing, contributing to sustainability frameworks and policy, and exploring the ethical implications of modern science and AI. In parallel, he works in radiogenomics, applying machine learning to integrate genomics and medical imaging data to improve understanding of cardiovascular disease.

Through his research and teaching, Dr Lannelongue is committed to advancing a more sustainable and responsible future for computational science.

Webpage: https://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/people/loic-lannelongueLink opens in a new window

Predictive Modelling » Seminars

27/04 1pm-2pm: WCPM: Savvaki Savva, Morgan Advanced Materials

11/05 1pm-2pm: WCPM: Samuel Cooper, Imperial

18/05 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Paddy Royall, ����TV

01/06 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Thomasina Ball, ����TV

08/06 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Kevin Huang, ����TV

15/06 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Sam Livingstone, UCL

22/06 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Ludovic Berthier, ESPCI

29/06 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Loïc Lannelongue, Cambridge

18/05 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Paddy Royall, ��TV

01/06 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Thomasina Ball, ��TV

08/06 1pm-2pm: WCPM, Kevin Huang, ��TV