Simon Cooksey, a PhD student at the School of Computing, has been awarded a Kent Graduate School Prize 2020 for his research’s impact on industry and academia.
As a student within the Programming Languages and Systems (PLAS) Research Group, Simon studies weak memory behaviours. His research focuses on modern multi-core computers, to understand the peculiar behaviours admitted by their complex micro-architectural designs. Through his research Simon has developed tools to bridge the gap between mathematical formalisation and programmer intuition about computer behaviour.
During a research internship at NVIDIA Corporation, the computer hardware company based in California, USA, Simon utilised his research and expertise to extend the memory consistency model for NVIDIA’s virtual instruction set to support ‘memory views’.
Simon said: ‘This prize means a lot to me; recognition of the impact of my research is very fulfilling. I will use the prize money to continue my research: allowing engineers to use high-performance computer hardware to its maximum capability.’
His supervisor, Dr Mark Batty, said: ‘Simon has been involved in several high impact projects, both academic and industrial. He has been instrumental in the development of the best technical specifications of the world’s most used programming languages and processors. Simon is an exceptional PhD candidate, utilising his skills to effectively complement the skills of his collaborators and driving novel research with remarkable impact.’
As a Graduate School Prize winner, Simon will receive £500 to further his research.