Flight Lieutenant Sam Holland BSc RAFVR(T)

Biography

I'm a Postgraduate Research Doctoral Student of Machine Learning and Optimisation at the School of Computer Science, University of Manchester (United Kingdom). My research interests are the use of artificial neural networks for pattern recognition and symmetry based image transforms. I'm currently in my thesis write up stage (fourth year) of my PhD studies. My thesis investigates the role of symmetry features in pattern recognition. This includes using symmetry information to perform spatial normalisation prior to classification; the classification and generalisation of patterns' symmetry features; and extending and modifying existing symmetry transforms to improve their symmetry detection and reporting capabilities. My work has also investigated the importance of symmetry's complement: asymmetry. The work has focused on using Probabilistic Neural Networks and is applied to offline handwritten digit recognition. However, the methodologies proposed modify inputs prior to classification and hence can be applied to various recognition problems using many different neural network architectures. My PhD Supervisor is Dr Richard Neville, who I would whole heartedly endorse to any prospective PhD student searching for a supervisor at the School of Computer Science.

I can be contacted by email at sam.holland@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk.

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy - (In Progress: 2007 to Present)
School of Computer Science, University of Manchester, UK
Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

Bachelor of Science (with Honours) Computing Science - First Class, 2007
School of Informatics, University of Manchester, UK (formerly the Department of Computation, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST))

Publications & Conferences

S Holland and R Neville. Position Invariant Optical Character Recognition through Symmetry Features, Proceedings of International Conference on Advances in Computing, Control, and Telecommunication Technologies pp. 313-315, 2009. Awarded Prize for Best Paper.

S Holland and R Neville. Classification of Handwritten Characters by their Symmetry Features, Proceedings of International Conference on Advances in Computing, Control, and Telecommunication Technologies pp. 316-318, 2009

R Neville and S Holland. Generating weights and generating vectors to map complex functions with artificial neural networks. IJCNN. IEEE: 2008: 30-37.

I have also peer reviewed for Pattern Recognition Letters.

Charitable Work

I was commissioned into the Royal Air Force Volunteers Reserve (Training branch) in March 2007. I currently command No. 184 (Manchester South) Squadron, of the Air Cadets. It consists of 11 Adult Staff and 47 Cadets. I currently hold the rank of Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) - I am the youngest individual holding that rank in East Cheshire & South Manchester Wing, a 'record' I have held for nearly two years. We parade twice weekly (three hours per parade) and occasional weekends. As the Commanding Officer, however, I do spend a considerable amount of time off unit headquarters planning and preparing. My responsibilities include: