Dr Matthew Craven
Profiles

Dr Matthew Craven

Associate Head of School (UG Education)

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Dr Matthew Craven can be contacted through arrangement with our Press Office, to speak to the media on these areas of expertise.
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Cryptography
  • Mathematics
  • High-performance computing
  • Optimisation
Biography

Biography

Roles
  • Associate Head for Undergraduate Education (SECaM).
  • Lecturer in Applied Mathematics.
  • Awarded the University SSTAR Award for "Inspirational Teacher of the Year" (June 2021) and nominated a further six times.
  • Co-leads the Plymouth Optimisation Group and the Big Data research group .
  • Member of the University Senate.
  • Applied Mathematics seminar joint organiser - if you wish to give a seminar then please contact me.

Qualifications

  • SFHEA (Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy)
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (Dundee)
  • PhD Mathematics (Manchester)

Professional membership

  • Member of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
  • Member of the London Mathematical Society
  • Member of the Foundation Year Network

Roles on external bodies

  • Member, EPSRC Peer Review College (2023 - Present)
  • Member, Royal Society International Exchanges Panel (2024 - Present)

Key publications

Graham DI & Craven MJ (2020) 'An exact algorithm for small-cardinality constrained portfolio optimisation' Journal of the Operational Research Society 1-17 , DOI Open access
Walker DJ & Craven MJ (2019) 'Identifying good algorithm parameters in evolutionary multi- and many-objective optimisation: A visualisation approach' Applied Soft Computing 88, 105902-105902 , DOI Open access
Craven MJ & Robertz D (2016) 'A parallel evolutionary approach to solving systems of equations in polycyclic groups' Groups Complexity Cryptology 8, (2) , DOI Open access
Manikowski P, Walker D & Craven M (2021) 'Multi-objective Optimisation of the Benchmark Wind Farm Layout Problem' Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 9, (12) , DOI Open access
Craven MJ & Woodward JR (2021) 'Evolution of group-theoretic cryptology attacks using hyper-heuristics' Journal of Mathematical Cryptology 16, (1) 49-63 , DOI Open access
View all publications
Teaching

Teaching

Teaching interests

Undergraduate 2023-24:
  • MATH051 Mathematical Methods I (Module Leader)
  • MATH055 Mathematics I
  • MATH056 Mathematics II
  • MATH3709 Optimisation, Networks and Graphs (Module Leader)
  • MATH3628 Final Year Mathematics Projects (Supervisor)

Postgraduate 2023-24:
  • GS19 Introduction to R for research staff and PhD students - Doctoral College (Module Leader) 
  • PROJ518 MSc Dissertation and Research Skills (Supervisor)
  • COMP5010 Topics in Applied Artificial Intelligence (Guest Lecturer)
External CPD Courses:
  • Big Data (April 2019)
  • Introduction to RStudio (January 2020)
  • Lunchtime Course on Inference (August 2021)
  • Algorithms and Algebra: A Journey Into Group-Theoretic Cryptology, Pakistan Virtual University (May 2022)
the majority in conjunction with the Environmental Futures and Big Data Impact Labat the University of Plymouth.
I also have many years of teaching experience in many different venues and levels, from foundation year to MSc levels and PhD workshops. I was awarded the University SSTAR Award for "Inspirational Teacher of the Year" (June 2021), and was nominated for the SSTAR Award "Programme Leader of the Year" and "The Big Thank You Award" (May 2022). I was also the Programme Manager for the SECaM foundation years from September 2015 to January 2023.

I have a proven track record of taking student research to publication, with articles in LNCS, Studies in Economics and Finance, and the Plymouth Student Scientist (see the "Research" tab for further details).
Research

Research

Research interests

The two main pillars of my research are Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) and Cyber Security. Underpinning these two pillars is work in artificial intelligence (AI), big data, mathematical modelling and visualisation, encompassing the following:
  • Hyperheuristics and machine learning
  • Group-theoretic cryptanalysis
  • Real-time visualisation and analysis of AI algorithms
In many of the above, I make use of parallel computation on the University High Performance Computing facility.

Current PhD Students:
  • A. Verulkar: Game-Theoretic Approaches Towards Insider Threat Detection and Mitigation (Director of Studies)
  • P. Manikowski: Multi-Objective Optimisation of Floating Offshore Windfarms (2nd Supervisor)
  • R. Soni: Hybridizing Metaheuristics with Machine Learning for Portfolio Optimization Problems (Director of Studies)
  • J. Hancock: The Use of Quantum Computing to Solve Problems in Quantum Field Theory and Optimisation (3rd Supervisor)
  • S. Ishaq Tijani: APT Detection and Analysis (3rd Supervisor)
  • J. O'Brien: Use of physical and numerical modelling data to create digital twins for improved floating offshore wind operations and fault response (Director of Studies)
I am always happy to hear from prospective PhD students in the areas specified above. For informal enquiries, please contact me directly. To apply officially for a PhD position at Plymouth, please read the information on applying for a research degree.

Undergraduate and Taught Masters Student Research:
I have a track record of research with undergraduate and MSc students.

Research groups

Other research

PhD Internal Examiner:
  • University of Plymouth (March 2020)
PhD External Examiner:
  • University of Greenwich (Sept 2019) 

Research degrees awarded to supervised students

  • Dr T. Alotaibi: Portfolio Optimisation Using Genetic Algorithms and Copula Financial Models (Director of Studies), 2022
  • Dr M. Walter: Understanding Optimisation Processes with Biologically-Inspired Visualisations (2nd Supervisor), 2023
  • Dr F. Ben Salamah: Adaptive Awareness Raising and Cyber Security Training for Social Media Users (2nd Supervisor), 2023

Grants & contracts

Externally Funded Projects:
06/2023 - 09/2023, Manning Endowment UG Research Internship: "Multi-Objective Optimisation of Electric Vessel Charging", £3k. PI Ansell L, Co-I Craven M.
01/04/2022 - 01/10/2023, Royal Academy of Engineering, Diversity Impact Programme: "Embedding Systemic Inclusion for Neurodiverse and Disabled Engineering Students", £94k. PI Khan A, Co-I Craven M, Wei Y, et al.
2021- 2022, British Council: "Going Global Partnerships Undergraduate STEM Education in Pakistan", £20k. PI Khan A, Co-I Craven M, Walker D, et al.
2021 - 2023, European Regional Development Fund, Invited researcher on the Cornwall Floating Offshore Wind Accelerator project. PI Greaves D. 
01/10/2020 - 01/04/2024, EPSRC ORE DTP Supergen-ORE: PhD studentship, £50.75k. PI Walker D, Co-I Craven M.01/10/2019 - 01/10/2022, SECaM: PhD Studentship, £43.5k. PI Walker D, Co-I Craven M.
01/08/2014 - 01/08/2017, NVIDIA, Award of NVIDIA GPU Research Center, £3.4k. PI Craven M. [Eight School academic staff carried out interdisciplinary research, supported by hardware from NVIDIA. The centre has continued as a pan-school initiative in the guise of the Plymouth GPU Research Centre.]
05/2015, Medicem, "Clinical Assessment of the WIOL-CF", £14k. PI Buckhurst P, Co-I Buckhurst H, Hewson P, Craven M.
Publications

Publications

Key publications

Graham DI & Craven MJ (2020) 'An exact algorithm for small-cardinality constrained portfolio optimisation' Journal of the Operational Research Society 1-17 , DOI Open access
Walker DJ & Craven MJ (2019) 'Identifying good algorithm parameters in evolutionary multi- and many-objective optimisation: A visualisation approach' Applied Soft Computing 88, 105902-105902 , DOI Open access
Craven MJ & Robertz D (2016) 'A parallel evolutionary approach to solving systems of equations in polycyclic groups' Groups Complexity Cryptology 8, (2) , DOI Open access
Manikowski P, Walker D & Craven M (2021) 'Multi-objective Optimisation of the Benchmark Wind Farm Layout Problem' Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 9, (12) , DOI Open access
Craven MJ & Woodward JR (2021) 'Evolution of group-theoretic cryptology attacks using hyper-heuristics' Journal of Mathematical Cryptology 16, (1) 49-63 , DOI Open access

Key publications are highlighted

Journals
Articles
Scoble L, Ussher SJ, Fitzsimons MF, Ansell L, Craven M & Fyfe RM (2023) 'Optimisation of classification methods to differentiate morphologically-similar pollen grains from FT-IR spectra' Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 321, 105041-105041 , DOI Open access
Ben Salamah F, Palomino MA, Craven MJ, Papadaki M & Furnell S (2023) 'An Adaptive Cybersecurity Training Framework for the Education of Social Media Users at Work' Applied Sciences 13, (17) 9595-9595 , DOI Open access
Alotaibi TS, Dalla Valle L & Craven MJ (2022) 'The Worst Case GARCH-Copula CVaR Approach for Portfolio Optimisation: Evidence from Financial Markets' Journal of Risk and Financial Management 15, (10) , DOI Open access
Walter MJ, Walker DJ & Craven MJ (2022) 'Visualising Population Dynamics to Examine Algorithm Performance' IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation , DOI Open access
Manikowski P, Walker D & Craven M (2021) 'Multi-objective Optimisation of the Benchmark Wind Farm Layout Problem' Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 9, (12) , DOI Open access
Craven MJ & Woodward JR (2021) 'Evolution of group-theoretic cryptology attacks using hyper-heuristics' Journal of Mathematical Cryptology 16, (1) 49-63 , DOI Open access
Graham DI & Craven MJ (2020) 'An exact algorithm for small-cardinality constrained portfolio optimisation' Journal of the Operational Research Society 1-17 , DOI Open access
Walker DJ & Craven MJ (2019) 'Identifying good algorithm parameters in evolutionary multi- and many-objective optimisation: A visualisation approach' Applied Soft Computing 88, 105902-105902 , DOI Open access
Craven MJ & Sharp J (2018) 'The "Mathematics Problem": A Plymouth Foundation Year Case Study' Journal of the Foundation Year Network 1, 23-35 Publisher Site Open access
Craven M (2017) 'Adversarial Risk Analysis' Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A: Statistics in Society 180, (2) 682-682 , DOI
Craven MJ & Robertz D (2016) 'A parallel evolutionary approach to solving systems of equations in polycyclic groups' Groups Complexity Cryptology 8, (2) , DOI Open access
Pournouri S & Craven M (2014) 'E-business, recent threats and security countermeasures' International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics 6, (3) 169-169 , DOI
Craven M (2012) 'Building on Workplace Simulation within the Context of First Year Undergraduate Civil Engineering' Professional Practice in Higher Education Teaching (1) 19-25
Craven MJ & Jimbo HC (2012) 'Evolutionary algorithm solution of the multiple conjugacy search problem in groups, and its applications to cryptography' Groups - Complexity - Cryptology 4, (1) , DOI
Books
James G, Dyke P, Searl J, Craven M & Wei Y (2020) Modern Engineering Mathematics. 6th Ed. Pearson Publisher Site
James G, Dyke PPG, Burley D, Clements D, Steele N, Searl J, Wright J, Craven MJ, Reis T & Stander J (2018) Advanced Modern Engineering Mathematics. 5th Ed. Pearson Publisher Site
Chapters
Walter M, Manikowski P, Craven M & Walker D (2024) 'Explaining Optimisation of Offshore Wind Farms using Metaheuristics' in Kulkarni AJ; Gandomi AH Handbook of Formal Optimization Springer , DOI Open access
Walter MJ, Manikowski PL, Craven MJ & Walker DJ (2024) 'Explaining Optimisation of Offshore Wind Farms Using Metaheuristics' Handbook of Formal Optimization Springer Nature Singapore 1-14 Publisher Site , DOI
Craven MJ (2008) 'An Evolutionary Algorithm for the Solution of Two-Variable Word Equations in Partially Commutative Groups' Recent Advances in Evolutionary Computation for Combinatorial Optimization Springer Berlin Heidelberg 3-19 , DOI
Conference Papers
Salamah FB, Palomino MA, Papadaki M, Craven MJ & Furnell S (2023) 'Evaluating the Risks of Human Factors Associated with Social Media Cybersecurity Threats' Springer Nature Switzerland 349-363 , DOI Open access
Walter M, Walker D & Craven M (2022) 'An Explainable Visualisation of the Evolutionary Search Process' ECXAI — Evolutionary Computation and Explainable AI Workshop of GECCO 2022 7-/-0/20227-/-0/2022Association for Computing Machinery 1794-1802 , DOI Open access
Martin S, Craven M & Woodward J (2020) 'A Structured Approach to Modifying Successful Heuristics' Proceedings of the 12th International Joint Conference on Computational Intelligence - Volume 1: ECTA 1-/-1/20201-/-1/2020SciTePress 220-225 , DOI Open access
Walter M, Walker D & Craven M (2020) 'Visualising Evolution History in Multi- and Many-Objective Optimisation' Parallel Problem Solving from Nature 2020 9-/-0/20209-/-0/2020Springer Verlag 299-312 , DOI Open access
Alotaibi T & Craven M (2019) 'Efficient Frontiers in Portfolio Optimisation with Minimum Proportion Constraints' GECCO 2019 7-/-0/20197-/-0/2019ACM 358-359 , DOI Open access
Walker D & Craven MJ (2018) 'Visualising the Operation of Evolutionary Algorithms Optimising Water Distribution Network Design Problems' 13th International Conference on Hydroinformatics Palermo, Italy 7-/-0/20187-/-0/2018, DOI Open access
Walker D & Craven MJ (2018) 'Toward the Online Visualisation of Algorithm Performance for Parameter Selection' EvoApplications 2018 Parma, Italy 4-/-0/20184-/-0/2018Springer , DOI Open access
Dash W & Craven MJ (2017) 'Exploring Botnet Evolution via Multidimensional Models and Visualisation' STM 2017 Oslo, Norway 9-/-0/20179-/-0/2017, DOI Open access
Craven MJ & Martin SP (2017) 'BBIOS: A Characterization of Evolutionary Algorithm Stability' GECCO 2017 Berlin, Germany 7-/-0/20177-/-0/2017ACM , DOI Open access
Craven MJ & Graham DI (2017) 'Exploring the (Efficient) Frontiers of Portfolio Optimization' GECCO 2017 Berlin, Germany 7-/-0/20177-/-0/2017ACM , DOI Open access
Craven MJ & Jimbo HC (2014) 'EA stability visualization' GECCO '14: Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference ACM , DOI
Ball L & Craven M (2013) 'Automated Counter-Terrorism' 2013 European Intelligence and Security Informatics Conference (EISIC) 8-/-0/20138-/-0/2013IEEE , DOI
Carmichael D, Craven M, Davidson M & Richmond G (2013) 'Social Learning Space: Supporting Students Articulating from FE to HE by Utilising Social Media Technology' Proc. Intl. Conf. Enhancement and Innovation in HE 6-/-0/20136-/-0/2013
Craven MJ & Jimbo HC (2013) 'An EA for portfolio selection over multiple investment periods with exponential transaction costs' GECCO '13: Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference ACM , DOI
Jimbo HC & Craven MJ (2012) 'A dynamical model of cancer chemotherapy with disturbance' GECCO '12: Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference ACM , DOI
Craven MJ & Jimbo HC (2011) 'A Kolmogorov-Type Stability Measure for Evolutionary Algorithms' Springer Berlin Heidelberg 26-37 , DOI
Craven MJ (2007) 'Genetic Algorithms for Word Problems in Partially Commutative Groups' Springer Berlin Heidelberg 48-59 , DOI
Other Publications
Craven M & Graham D A Matrix-Based Evolutionary Algorithm for Cardinality-Constrained Portfolio Optimisation. Open access
Craven M & Woodward J Instances for Group-Theoretic Cryptology. Open access
Craven M & Graham D Sifted QP Solutions for Minimum Proportions Dataset. Open access
Graham D & Craven MJ Sifted QP solutions for portfolio optimisation problems dataset. Open access
Manikowski P, Walker D & Craven M Wind turbines dataset. Open access
Personal

Personal

Reports & invited lectures

Recent invited lectures and talks:
  • 2023 (with F. Ben Salamah, M. Palomino, M. Papadaki and S. Furnell) "Evaluating the Risks of Human Factors Associated with Social Media Cybersecurity Risks", HAISA 2023.
  • 2023 (with J. W. Davies) "The Role of a Foundation Year in Providing Access to Engineering", Univ. Warwick.
  • 2023 Session leader at the Inclusive Engineering Conference, Univ. Plymouth.
  • 2023 Invited Talk and Panel Session, PGR Students into Teaching Conference, Univ. Plymouth.
  •  2022 (with D. J. Walker and M. J. Walter) "An Explainable Visualisation of the Evolutionary Search Process", ECXAI Workshop at GECCO 2022. 
  •  2022 (with P. L. Manikowski and D. J. Walker) "Many-Objective Optimisation of Offshore Wind Farms", 9th PRIMaRE Conference.
  • 2022 (with M. J. Walter, P. L. Manikowski and D. J. Walker) "Explainable Optimisation of Offshore Wind Farms", 9th PRIMaRE Conference.
  • 2021 "Foundation Year Innovation, Challenges and Opportunities During a Pandemic", FYNAC21, Univ. Keele, Online. Also, invited panel discussion.
  • 2021 (with P. L. Manikowski and D. J. Walker) "Single and Multi-Objective Optimisation of Benchmark Wind Farm Optimisation Problems", 8th PRIMaRE Conference.
  • 2021 (with D. J. Walker and K. Tam) "Securing and Automating Offshore Renewable Engineering: Challenges in Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security", 8th PRIMaRE Conference.
  • 2020 (with S. Martin and J. R. Woodward) "A Structured Approach to Modifying Successful Heuristics", 12th Intl. Conf. on Evolutionary Computation Theory and Applications, Online.
  • 2020 "Inclusion for Foundation Year Mathematics Post Covid-19", FYNAC20, Univ. East Anglia, UK. Also, invited panel discussion.
  • 2020 (with M. J. Walter and D. J. Walker) "Visualising Evolution History in Multi- and Many-Objective Optimisation", PPSN 2020, Leiden, Netherlands.
  • 2019 (with T. Alotaibi and P. Tziogkidis) "Constructing Class-Based Portfolios on Gulf Markets with Metaheuristics", OR-61, Kent, UK.
  • 2019 (with T. Alotaibi) "Efficient Frontiers in Portfolio Optimisation with Minimum Proportion Constraints", GECCO 2019, Prague, Czech Republic.
  • 2019 (with J. Sharp) "Combatting the Deficit Model in Foundation Year Mathematics: Ethical Admissions and Inclusive Curricula", FYNAC19, Univ. Sussex, UK.
  • 2019 "Group-Theoretic Cryptanalysis Using Hyperheuristics", Queen Mary University of London, UK.
  • 2019 "Evolution of Cryptanalytic Attacks via Hyperheuristics", Big Data Group, Plymouth, UK.
  • 2018 (with J. Sharp) "Exploring the Frontiers of Foundation Years in Mathematics - An Update on a Work in Progress", FYNAC18, Nottingham, UK.
  • 2018 (with D. J. Walker) "Visualising the Operation of Evolutionary Algorithms Optimising Water Distribution Network Design Problems", HIC 2018, Palermo, Italy.
  • 2018 (with D. J. Walker) "Toward the Online Visualisation of Algorithm Performance for Parameter Selection", EVOIndustry, Parma, Italy.
  • 2018 "The Plymouth GPU Research Centre, Big Data Group", Plymouth, UK.
 

Other academic activities

  • I have taught many Royal Institute Mathematics Masterclasses and outreach events, the most recent in February 2020.
  • I regularly lead sessions at Mathematical Sciences open and applicant days for undergraduate students.
  • I review for the Journal of Operational Research, Transactions on Evolutionary Learning and Optimization, Expert Systems with Applications, and Applied Soft Computing, among others. I was a Programme Committee member for the GECCO-UP Workshop 2013 and GECCO 2019, and a Review Committee member for the VizGEC Workshop in 2015-date.
  • I review EPSRC grant applications in cryptography and artificial intelligence.
  • I co-lead the Big Data Group and the Plymouth Optimisation Group.

Links