- Room 111, 2 Kirkby Place, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA
- +44 1752 586329
- matthew.craven@plymouth.ac.uk

Profiles
Dr Matthew Craven
Lecturer in Applied Mathematics
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
Email publicrelations@plymouth.ac.uk to enquire.
Biography
Biography
Roles
- Lecturer in Applied Mathematics.
- Awarded the University SSTAR Award for "Inspirational Teacher of the Year" (June 2021).
- Deputy Associate Head for Teaching and Learning (SECaM).
- Co-leads the Plymouth Optimisation Group and the Big Data research group.
- Programme Manager for the (six) Foundation Year Technology programmes in the Faculty of Science and Engineering.
- Member of the University Senate.
- Certified Mental Health First Aider.
- Applied Mathematics seminar joint organiser - if you wish to give a seminar then please contact me. (Current seminar details available on CMS seminars calendar.)
Qualifications
- FHEA (Higher Education Academy)
- Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (Dundee)
- PhD Mathematics (Manchester)
Professional membership
- Member, Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
- Member, London Mathematical Society
- Member, Foundation Year Network
Key publications
(2020) 'An exact algorithm for small-cardinality constrained portfolio optimisation' Journal of the Operational Research Society 1-17 , DOI Open access
(2019) 'Identifying good algorithm parameters in evolutionary multi- and many-objective optimisation: A visualisation approach' Applied Soft Computing 88, 105902-105902 , DOI Open access
(2016) 'A parallel evolutionary approach to solving systems of equations in polycyclic groups' Groups Complexity Cryptology 8, (2) , DOI Open access
(2021) 'Multi-objective Optimisation of the Benchmark Wind Farm Layout Problem' Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 9, (12) , DOI Open access
(2021) 'Evolution of group-theoretic cryptology attacks using hyper-heuristics' Journal of Mathematical Cryptology 16, (1) 49-63 , DOI Open access
Teaching
Teaching
Teaching interests
Undergraduate 2022-23:
- MATH051 Mathematical Methods I (Module Leader)
- MATH054 Mathematics for Computing (Module Leader)
- MATH055 Mathematics I
- MATH056 Mathematics II
- MATH2604 Mathematical Methods and Applications (Module Leader)
- MATH3628 Final Year Mathematics Projects (Supervisor)
Postgraduate 2022-23:
- GS19 Introduction to R for research staff and PhD students - Doctoral College (Module Leader)
- PROJ518 MSc Dissertation and Research Skills (Supervisor)
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 Lab at 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 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
- Copulas and combinatorial optimisation in mathematical modelling
- Real-time visualisation and performance analysis of AI algorithms (e.g., Evolutionary 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)
- F. Ben Salamah: Adaptive Awareness Raising and Cyber Security Training for Social Media Users (2nd Supervisor)
- 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: Using Homomorphic Encryption for Privacy Protection in VANETs (3rd Supervisor)
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.
- 2022: What might happen to the global stock market after Brexit?
- 2021: Constrained portfolio optimisation
- 2020: Assessing the security of cryptographic primitives for infinite groups
- 2018: A comparison of exact and heuristic algorithms to solve the travelling salesman problem
- 2017: Exploring botnet evolution via multidimensional models and visualisation
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
Grants & contracts
Externally Funded Projects:
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, Outram N, Besinis A, Lavelle M, Simmonds D.
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
(2020) 'An exact algorithm for small-cardinality constrained portfolio optimisation' Journal of the Operational Research Society 1-17 , DOI Open access
(2019) 'Identifying good algorithm parameters in evolutionary multi- and many-objective optimisation: A visualisation approach' Applied Soft Computing 88, 105902-105902 , DOI Open access
(2016) 'A parallel evolutionary approach to solving systems of equations in polycyclic groups' Groups Complexity Cryptology 8, (2) , DOI Open access
(2021) 'Multi-objective Optimisation of the Benchmark Wind Farm Layout Problem' Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 9, (12) , DOI Open access
(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
(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
(2022) 'Visualising Population Dynamics to Examine Algorithm Performance' IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation , DOI Open access
(2021) 'Multi-objective Optimisation of the Benchmark Wind Farm Layout Problem' Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 9, (12) , DOI Open access
(2021) 'Evolution of group-theoretic cryptology attacks using hyper-heuristics' Journal of Mathematical Cryptology 16, (1) 49-63 , DOI Open access
(2020) 'An exact algorithm for small-cardinality constrained portfolio optimisation' Journal of the Operational Research Society 1-17 , DOI Open access
(2019) 'Identifying good algorithm parameters in evolutionary multi- and many-objective optimisation: A visualisation approach' Applied Soft Computing 88, 105902-105902 , DOI Open access
(2018) 'The "Mathematics Problem": A Plymouth Foundation Year Case Study' Journal of the Foundation Year Network 1, 23-35 Publisher Site Open access
(2017) 'Adversarial Risk Analysis' Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A: Statistics in Society 180, (2) 682-682 , DOI
(2016) 'A parallel evolutionary approach to solving systems of equations in polycyclic groups' Groups Complexity Cryptology 8, (2) , DOI Open access
(2014) 'E-business, recent threats and security countermeasures' International Journal of Electronic Security and Digital Forensics 6, (3) 169-169 , DOI
(2012) 'Building on Workplace Simulation within the Context of First Year Undergraduate Civil Engineering' Professional Practice in Higher Education Teaching (1) 19-25
(2012) 'Evolutionary algorithm solution of the multiple conjugacy search problem in groups, and its applications to cryptography' Groups - Complexity - Cryptology 4, (1) , DOI
Books
Chapters
(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
(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
(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
(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
(2019) 'Efficient Frontiers in Portfolio Optimisation with Minimum Proportion Constraints' GECCO 2019 7-/-0/20197-/-0/2019ACM 358-359 , DOI Open access
(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
(2018) 'Toward the Online Visualisation of Algorithm Performance for Parameter Selection' EvoApplications 2018 Parma, Italy 4-/-0/20184-/-0/2018Springer , DOI Open access
(2017) 'Exploring Botnet Evolution via Multidimensional Models and Visualisation' STM 2017 Oslo, Norway 9-/-0/20179-/-0/2017, DOI Open access
(2017) 'BBIOS: A Characterization of Evolutionary Algorithm Stability' GECCO 2017 Berlin, Germany 7-/-0/20177-/-0/2017ACM , DOI Open access
(2017) 'Exploring the (Efficient) Frontiers of Portfolio Optimization' GECCO 2017 Berlin, Germany 7-/-0/20177-/-0/2017ACM , DOI Open access
(2014) 'EA stability visualization' GECCO '14: Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference ACM , DOI
(2013) 'Automated Counter-Terrorism' 2013 European Intelligence and Security Informatics Conference (EISIC) 8-/-0/20138-/-0/2013IEEE , DOI
(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
(2013) 'An EA for portfolio selection over multiple investment periods with exponential transaction costs' GECCO '13: Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference ACM , DOI
(2012) 'A dynamical model of cancer chemotherapy with disturbance' GECCO '12: Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference ACM , DOI
(2011) 'A Kolmogorov-Type Stability Measure for Evolutionary Algorithms' Springer Berlin Heidelberg 26-37 , DOI
(2007) 'Genetic Algorithms for Word Problems in Partially Commutative Groups' Springer Berlin Heidelberg 48-59 , DOI
Other Publications
A Matrix-Based Evolutionary Algorithm for Cardinality-Constrained Portfolio Optimisation. Open access
Instances for Group-Theoretic Cryptology. Open access
Sifted QP Solutions for Minimum Proportions Dataset. Open access
Sifted QP solutions for portfolio optimisation problems dataset. Open access
Wind turbines dataset. Open access
Personal
Personal
Reports & invited lectures
Recent invited lectures and talks:
- 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 (JORS), 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 lead the Big Data Group, and also the Plymouth GPU Research Centre.
Links
Centre for Mathematical Sciences (research group)