Professor Patrick (Paddy) Nixon

Paddy Nixon

“I joined UCD in April 2005. I had been looking for ways to return to Ireland for a number of years. Among Irish universities, UCD Computer Science department’s international reputation was second to none. The School was developing a number of key research areas, particularly around distributed systems and software systems engineering. It was also seeking to capitalise on a major Science Foundation Ireland investment in adaptive information systems.

“My professorship at UCD was supported by a substantial SFI award, which gave me an exciting opportunity to build a group from scratch. I had spoken to a number of institutions worldwide about setting up the group. UCD's positive and open attitude coupled with its emphasis on developing internationally competitive research teams were the deciding factors.

“I work in an area widely regarded as the next wave of the development of personal computing. Essentially, it’s about integrating the vast number of sensors in the physical world with the information that exists on the internet (virtual world).

“UCD's enthusiasm for research and its focus on supporting and developing it is amazing. The University is growing very rapidly and that inevitably puts pressure on the resources, but there’s a real can-do attitude that pervades the whole institution – an attitude that’s infectious!

“Working at UCD is the best fun I've had in a job. There is a real sense of ambition balanced by a genuine wish to maintain the traditional values of academic life. I have worked in some great schools and visited many others, but the School of Computer Science and Informatics stands out for its support and genuine care the staff show their colleagues and the students.”