CV Executive Summary: Dr. P. S. Ward, B.Sc. Ph.D

E-mail peter@magicbrowser.co.uk

www.magicbrowser.co.uk
@SabirIMP




Present Occupation

Consultancy: Information Systems Architect; GUI/HUI Design & Evaluation; Human Factors/HCI; Systems Analysis & Systems Modelling; Information & Knowledge Modelling; Project Management.

I am currently engaged in a project, 'Frameworks', which is a modular information, data and knowledge modelling, management and communication tool.

Writing a book (a fantasy for teenagers); working on a book (assisting an author on a manual for music practice); developing visual browsers e.g. 'PIM DINGER' a personal information modelling, management and communication “app”; 'Frameworks' an enterprise information and data modelling, management, and visualisation tool; a resurrection of the 1991 Project: The 'Spider Phobia Program' an interactive exploration and modification of a simple animal phobia; ETC.

Career Summary

Undergraduate & Postgraduate Study

My undergraduate degree, 1971, was in Zoology, Systematics and Psychology and my PhD, 1974, was concerned with animal models of human neuromuscular disorders and the effects of exercise on skeletal muscle. I joined the Central Veterinary Laboratories in 1974 as Senior Research Fellow reviewing the differential diagnosis of neuromuscular disorders in farm animals. I went on to the Medical School at Leeds in 1979 as as a Lecturer in Gross and Functional Anatomy. In 1990 and funded by The New Technologies Group at IBM Hursley Park, UK, I established the 'Information Modelling Programme' (IMP) in the University of Leeds. In 1996 I went on to become Lecturer in Cognitive Science & Information Systems in the School of Geography. In 1999 I established The Digital Window Ltd and the Mossy Rock Information Systems Consultancies. Between 2004-2009 I contributed to the launch of the Problem Based Learning (PBL) Curriculum as a Tutor at the newly established Hull York Medical School (HYMS).

I have worked in four distinct areas - (i) in systematics and classification within the domain of biology, (ii) in medical research concerned with the differential diagnosis of neuromuscular and neurological diseases, (iii) in medical education as a lecturer in human and comparative anatomy, a tutor in medical PBL and (iv) in cognitive science, information technology and applied information systems: as a designer and project team leader in the creation of innovative software and applications for “interactive hypermedia, object-oriented modelling and visual browsing."

The School of Medicine University of Leeds

In the Anatomy Department at Leeds, I contributed to the design of curricula and courseware and as an enthusiastic teacher, with the spectrum of the student’s educational and social needs as priorities, I was critical of some anatomy teaching and creative in looking for better ways to support student learning.

My Vision of "Interactive Hypermedia"

I translated my 1985 original vision of “interactive computer-based learning” into a series of projects and pioneering software tools and applications: starting with an anatomy project with IBM Education Systems in 1989/90, delivering the ‘Human Nervous System Graphical Browser’. This was a graphical interface to basic knowledge in a clinical context - which 'concept demonstrator' I re-constructed using object-oriented technology, UNIX and X11 windows in a project with IBM Advanced Technologies Hursley Park UK. Together with a talented games programmer in my team, I pioneered the use of the Eiffel Object Oriented Programming Language applied to the modelling and delivery of interactive hypermedia.

A Pioneer in R&D into Hypermedia and the Use of Pure OOT/The Eiffel Programming Language in the Design & Development of Software Components for Interactive Hypermedia

I have been a pioneer in R&D into Hypermedia and the Use of Pure OOT/The Eiffel Programming Language in the Design & Development of Software Components for Interactive Hypermedia - dating back to 1987 and with the support of IBM New Technologies Group at IBM UK Hursley Park UK with focus on Unix/AIX/X11/TCP-IP/OOPL/High Resolution Display in 1990 and Sun Microsystems Academic Support 'Unix/Solaris/X11/TCP-IP/OOT/Eiffel Class Libraries for Hypermedia Distributed on The Network in 1992.

IMP: The Information Modelling Programme University of Leeds

My focus has been on graphical user interfaces, human communication, information modelling, human cognitive processes and what has latterly become called' “knowledge engineering” and my work has been under the umbrella of cognitive science. Over 10 years I secured funding for and led an R&D unit in the University of Leeds – pioneering Unix/X11 and pure object-oriented technology. I pioneered small team interdisciplinary R&D in a university environment with a focus on rapid prototyping of concept demonstrators and the development and delivery of working applications capable of user evaluation in project time-frames of months (rather than years).

The School of Geography University of Leeds

As well as teaching Human Anatomy in the School of Medicine at Leeds, I taught a post graduate masters course in "Information Modelling & Visualisation” in the School of Geography.

In 1992 in the School of Geography, I developed and delivered to the newly opening University Environment Centre, a multi-platform distributed campus wide “Environment Foundations Course”.

The Evolutionary Series of R&D 1985-1996

So, between 1985-1996, I delivered an evolutionary series of software multimedia authoring tools and working applications across the domains of the Arts & Sciences & Engineering and in over 12 major projects specific teaching-and-learning applications delivered from Sun Microsystems servers which pre-dated the World Wide Web and which were delivered across campus networks in Leeds and Manchester Metropolitan Universities.

Seminars at TOOLS Conferences

Between 1991 and 1996, I was invited to conduct seminars on object-oriented applications design and engineering in a series of Conferences on the Technology of Object Oriented Languages and Systems (TOOLS) in the USA and Europe.

The Spider Phobia Program

In 1991, I developed an interactive program for the modelling of spider phobia, the clinical application of which was proved in a PhD by a clinical psychologist and which gave me my 15 minutes of fame. Between 1994 I developed the 'Paris' HTML Browser and in 1996 re-engineered as 'The Magic Browser'.

The CLCV Browser Project

I worked as a knowledge engineer and employed 'The Magic Browser' in a major 5 year US$ 10 million project for the Government of Pakistan funded by the Asian Development Bank and I developed 'The CLCV Project Browser' as a visual browser encapsulating the project enterprise knowledge.

PBL Tutor at HYMS

In the mid 2000's, I was a Tutor in 'Problem Based Learning' at the new UK Hull York Medical School.

Beyond the Academic Arena

I have engaged in a wide variety of work beyond the academic arena and embrace tasks involving communication, education & training, human computer interaction/human factors, systems analysis & design, knowledge modelling and project planning & management. I seek intellectual challenge and I am no stranger to the hard work required to transform good ideas into tangible realities in short time-frames and tight budget constraints.

Capabilities & Passions

Among my capabilities I would list optimism, enthusiasm, passion, experience, invention, commitment, and application; an ability to engage in abstraction and symbolic modelling; with a great concern to focus on and to enable effective communication.

I have retained a passion for the development of user-centred computer-based systems, working with domain experts in information and knowledge engineering and the construction of cognitively stimulating while simple visual graphical user interfaces to enable realisation and communication.

I have a passion for many things including trees, playing the saxophone and saxifrage.

Referees – Information Technology R&D

Professor Bertrand Meyer

Department of Computer Science CH-8092 ETH-Zentrum Zürich, Switzerland

E-mail: bertrand.meyer@inf.ethz.ch

Graham Lovell

Previously of The Oracle Corporation, Austin Texas USA.

E-mail: graham_lovell@hotmail.com

Short-List : Publications in Biology and Information Technology

Between 1972-78 I published a number of papers on the histochemistry of muscle including in Canadian Journal of Zoology and Proceedings of International Congress of Neuromuscular Diseases.

Biology (very shortlist)

Information Technology

Nota Bene
My focus was necessarily on realising my vision by employing a small team - principally a gifted games programmer and a games graphics artist - in the evolution of a series of tools and applications driven by end users in a cycle of funding. This was the priority over publication.

Nevertheless, I contributed to a series of academic and industrial journals and national and international conferences in the IT Domain - Between 1989 and 1996

IT Papers & Presentations

Short-List : Projects and Working Applications