Dr David Clifton
Academic Background
Dr Clifton took a top first in engineering mathematics at the University of Bristol, and then a DPhil in information engineering at the University of Oxford. He is currently a Junior Research Fellow in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, in the Department of Engineering Science, and is funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EPSRC.
His research has been awarded prizes from the IEE, IOP, the EU, Shell, Abbey-Santander, and Hewlett-Packard; he has been awarded four best-paper prizes from academic conferences, and has won the Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) prize at the UK House of Commons.
Undergraduate Teaching
Dr Clifton teaches undergraduate engineering mathematics, electrical engineering, information engineering, and biomedical engineering in Jesus College and the Department of Engineering Science.
He typically takes a few undergraduates as interns during the summer, undertaking research in information engineering and biomedical engineering, and takes third- and fourth-year undergraduate project students in these areas, which he is happy to discuss with potential project students.
He has previously held lecturerships at St Catherine’s College, Somerville College, and Pembroke College.
Graduate Teaching
The Centre for Doctoral Training at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering runs graduate courses in signal processing, data analysis, and machine learning, which are taught by Dr Clifton. He takes MSc project students in artificial intelligence and biomedical engineering, and co-supervises DPhil students in the same areas.
Research Interests
Dr Clifton is interested in machine learning methods for performing probabilistic inference in large datasets acquired from complex systems. Further information, and a list of his publications, may be found at his research webpage, listed below.
His work has led to early-warning systems for the engines of the Eurofighter, Airbus A380, and Boeing 787 “Dreamliner”, for manufacturing process monitoring, and for patient vital-sign monitoring in hospitals and for the “intelligent” monitoring of patients in their home.
Other Information
David is married to Dr Lei Clifton, of Green-Templeton College and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering. Despite the fact that they are both engineers, David and Lei have an otherwise apparently normal son, named George.
Current undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to contact Dr Clifton via e-mail to discuss potential summer research projects, in the areas of information engineering (particularly machine learning and signal processing) and biomedical engineering (particularly intelligent patient monitoring).
Links
Subject notes for courses taught at Jesus College: Engineering (including all branches and Joint Courses)
See also Department of Engineering Science website and Dr Clifton's personal website.
