Alan Blackwell

Biography

Alan Blackwell is Professor of Interdisciplinary Design in the Cambridge University department of Computer Science and Technology (the “Computer Lab”). He has been designing programming languages since 1983, and carrying out research into Artificial Intelligence since 1985. He originally studied engineering, practising with professional certification in his home country Aotearoa New Zealand, before completing further degrees in Computer Science and Experimental Psychology. His multi-disciplinary interests have included an undergraduate major in comparative religion and 40 years as an orchestral musician. He has developed and taught university courses in Software Design and Software Engineering, Interaction with Machine Learning, Usability of Programming Languages, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Music, and Theories of Socio-Digital Interaction. He is a Fellow of Darwin College Cambridge, co-founder with David Good of the Crucible Network for research in Interdisciplinary Design, and with David and Lara Allen the Global Challenges strategic research initiative of the University of Cambridge.