Peter Gibbons Memorial Lecture Series 2009. Computing: From Theory to Practice

The University of Auckland Department of Computer Science is initiating an annual series of lectures named the "Peter Gibbons Memorial Lecture Series" in memory of Associate Professor Peter Gibbons, who sadly passed away early in 2008. The lectures describe developments in research in Computer Science and are aimed at a general but technical audience - to Computer Science students at all levels, and to IT practitioners both inside and outside the University.

The inaugural series of four lectures in 2009 are based around topics to which Peter Gibbons himself made contributions: combinatorics, software engineering, bioinformatics and computer science education.

The schedule of lectures is:
1.    May 13: The Combinatorics at the Heart of the Problem – Prof Charles Colbourn (Arizona State University)
2.    May 20: Making Software Testing Easier – Dr Myra B. Cohen (University of Nebraska)
3.    May 27: Developing Darwin's Computer – Assoc Prof Alexei Drummond (Bioinformatics, University of Auckland)
4.    June 3: Technologies for Deep Learning – Dr John Hamer, Andrew Luxton-Reilly, Dr Beryl Plimmer (Computer Science, University of Auckland)

Where: University of Auckland Conference Centre, 22 Symonds St, Building/room 423-342
When: 5.30pm for refreshments, prior to a 6.00pm start.
Please RSVP to robyn@cs.auckland.ac.nz for catering purposes.

Peter Gibbons' Biography

Peter's academic career began at Massey University where he completed a BSc in Mathematics and Statistics with 1st class Honours in 1970. This was followed in 1972 by an MSc in Computer Science with Distinction - the first degree in Computer Science awarded in New Zealand. He completed his PhD in Toronto then returned to New Zealand to lecture at Massey, moving to Auckland in 1980 as the first external hire of the newly established Department of Computer Science. He was with our department through to his retirement in 2004, including a 3-year period as Head of Department from 1997. After retirement he continued his association under an Honorary appointment.

Peter’s research area was on the boundary between Mathematics and Computer Science in the field of Combinatorics. Peter's particular interests included block designs (especially Steiner systems), Latin squares, graph domination questions, and the development and implementation of computer algorithms for combinatorial search and enumeration.

Peter taught his research specialization both at graduate and undergraduate level. He also taught introductory programming to first-year students and at a more advanced level. He became involved with new areas, such as Multimedia and BioInformatics, where his knowledge and expertise could be applied.  Peter inspired many others into research, often drawn from the thousands of students whom he taught. These colleagues can be found throughout New Zealand and the world.

Gibbons Lecture Fund

The Computer Science Department is committed to funding the Gibbons Lectures in its initial stages. However, the prestige of the lectures and their permanence depends on establishing a permanent source of funding. To that end the department has established a fund that will be built up to provide support. We welcome contributions to the fund. If you are able to help, please contact the Head of Department, currently Dr Robert Amor (trebor@cs.auckland.ac.nz)