Introduction

I am Professor of Information Theory and Director of the Institute for Statistical Science in the School of Mathematics at Bristol University. I am Programme Director for the MSc in the Mathematics of Cybersecurity, and Personal Advisor for the COMPASS CDT in Computational Statistics and Data Science. I also help run the Centre for Doctoral Training in Communications. My book Numbercrunch is written for a general audience and I can be found on Substack.

Much of my research applies Information Theory to understand limit theorems in probability and statistics. Recently this has involved discrete random variables - including transportation of measure, proofs of the Shepp-Olkin entropy concavity and monotonicity conjectures, log-Sobolev inequalities, maximum entropy, monotonicity and other problems.

I also research group testing, both in terms of practical algorithms and fundamental bounds via converse results. This has led to a recent survey monograph, published by Foundations and Trends in Communications and Information Theory.

I published a book about my older research, entitled Information Theory and the Central Limit Theorem. Here is a list of known errata. My preprints and academic links are available on this site.

In the academic year 2022-23, I will be lecturing the first half of the first year unit Probability and Statistics and unit organiser for the MSc Cybersecurity Project Preparation unit.

I was previously Max Newman Research Fellow of the Statistical Laboratory of Cambridge University and Clayton Fellow of Christ's College Cambridge, Associate Director of the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research and Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for Bristol Mathematics.