computer science

	STAFF — Rick Thomas Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
	G9 Computer Science Building Department of Computer Science, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH. T: +44 (0)116 252 3885 F: +44 (0)116 252 3604 E: rmt@mcs.le.ac.uk

Some history.

I did my undergraduate degree in Mathematics at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University and stayed on there to read for a DPhil; my area of research was finite simple groups and I was supervised by Brian Stewart. I was awarded my doctorate in 1978, and then spent two years lecturing Mathematics at Brunel University, followed by a year at University College London. I was then appointed Lecturer in Mathematics at St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill in 1981, and I spent six years there before moving on to a lectureship in Computer Science in the Computing Studies Department at Leicester in 1987.

After the merger of the Mathematics and Computing Studies Departments in 1992, I became a member of the newly formed Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, which became the School of Mathematics and Computer Science in 2003. The School was dissolved in 2009 with the introduction of the College system in the University. I am now a member of the Department of Computer Science within the College of Science and Engineering.

Some current information.

The main responsibilities of an academic are to undertake teaching and research; I greatly enjoy both of these and I am a firm believer in the following philosophy of the University:

Some universities consider their primary purpose to be high quality research, others concentrate on excellent teaching. At Leicester we think that the two are not only complementary, they’re inseparable. We believe that teaching is more inspirational when delivered by passionate scholars engaged in world-changing research – and that research is stronger when delivered in an academic community that includes students.

As far as research is concerned, my main areas of interest are concerned with the computational complexity of algebraic structures; see here for some more information about the research in the department and, for more details about my own research (such as my research interests, a list of my publications and the names of those people I have been lucky enough to collaborate with) see the links in the menu bar on the right.

As far as my teaching is concerned, I have taught a number of courses over the years; for details of my current teaching, see the link in the menu bar on the right. Whilst I love teaching, I do not currently teach as much as I used to as I am only half-time in the department; the other half of my current role in the University is as the Academic Director of the College of Science and Engineering. I started this role in September 2009 (when the College system was introduced) and it is a position that brings a great deal of satisfaction, working with a number of very talented people to help shape the future academic direction of the College and the rest of the University.

• My Research
• Research interests and papers
• Books
• Research collaborators
• Recent PhD Students

• Other Details
• Societies and external duties
• Teaching
• Administration
• E-mailing me

• Other Links
• Directions to my office
• Travel to Leicester

Author: Rick Thomas (rmt@mcs.le.ac.uk), T: +44 (0)116 252 3885.
© University of Leicester 12th June 2006. Last modified: 13th December 2011, 12:36:31.
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