Twenty-five-year-old Christopher Elsmore celebrated the award of his Masters of Research (MRes) in Future Interaction Technologies from Swansea University today (Friday, July 22).
Christopher, from Wokingham in Berkshire, whose research focused on the design of sustainable technology, graduated at the Degree and Award Congregation for the College of Science, held in the city’s Brangwyn Hall, watched by his father Clive and girlfriend Francesca.
Educated at The Emmbrook School in Wokingham, specialising in Maths and Computing, Christopher completed his BEng in Electronics Engineering and Computer Science at Swansea University in 2008, winning the William Renwick Prize for the best third year project.
He then began his MRes studies in the University’s College of Science, and worked together with Welsh families and schoolchildren to create a system to encourage people of all ages towards better energy consumption and waste management.
His solutions, which were later published at an international academic workshop, involved a mix of low-level hardware prototyping and high-level software design as well as conceptual participatory design methods, highlighting his flexibility and good use of appropriate research methods.
One of his lecturers Dr Max L Wilson, from Department of Computer Science’s Future Interaction Technologies (FIT) Lab, said: “Christopher is an exceptionally talented computer scientist, electrical engineer, and software developer, and can now add human-computer interaction researcher to the list.
“He excelled beyond his peers, and without letting the personal challenge of a stutter limit his ambitions or achievements.”
After completing his MRes studies, Christopher was offered a research position at the University of Cambridge, where he now works on the design of energy management tools, within the Systems Research Group.
Christopher said: “I’m very happy to be graduating from Swansea for a second time, with a postgraduate award I thoroughly enjoyed working towards.
“The Department, the lecturers, and the friends I made throughout my studies exposed me to a great range of fields within Electronics and Computer Science, supported me, and were instrumental in forming my decision and providing the skills to study and conduct research into Human Computer Interaction.
“These skills meant after completing my MRes I was able to secure a great job at the University of Cambridge, continuing research into using technology as a tool for reducing our impact on the environment, an area I’m very passionate about.
“I would like to thank my lecturers and my friends for making my time at Swansea some of my most enjoyable.”
For more information about Swansea University Graduation Week visit http://www.swansea.ac.uk/graduation/.
