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Crispin Cooper  FHEA

Dr Crispin Cooper

FHEA

Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Teams and roles for Crispin Cooper

Overview

I started out modelling sustainable transport, but you can’t understand that without understanding what people want from life overall, so now I model well-being, politics and social media echo chambers too. Along the way I also started working with games and (like everyone else) AI. My interests are broad, so you can expect all this to change as we go along.

My spatial network analysis software sDNA is used by thousands of academics and practitioners to simulate pedestrian and cyclist behaviour worldwide.

I have worked with numerous external partners to deliver impact, in particular engineering consultancies Arup Group Ltd and Wedderburn Transport Planning, sustainable transport charities Green Alliance and Sustrans, and the Office for National Statistics.

Publication

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2010

2009

2006

Articles

Book sections

Conferences

Monographs

Other

Thesis

Websites

Research

Broadly speaking I am interested in both data science theory, and its application to support a more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable world. For a while I have focussed on models of transport, and found that to really understand transport we need to understand the rest of society too - from politics and land use to health and well-being - so my models are always building outwards from that starting point.

My research background was initially in Computer Science; working for the Intelligent Systems group at the University of York I helped to develop microchips capable of evolution, growth, self-repair and learning. I also spent time in commercial research & development, as part of a team creating bluetooth firmware which was able to link to the first iPhone back in 2006.

Having a long-term interest in sustainable development, I worked as a project volunteer in Uganda during 2006.

My PhD was completed at Cardiff University's School of Geography and Planning (formerly City and Regional Planning), using high performance computing to visualise and model large quantities of housing market socioeconomic data collected from the UK census and Land Registry. This was funded by a Richard Whipp studentship.

From there I went on to become a Research Fellow in the Sustainable Places Research Institute, working there for around 10 years.

My network analysis software sDNA is used by over 2000 researchers and practitioners worldwide, particularly for planning sustainable transport networks, and was subject of a REF Impact case study in 2014. 

As of 2025 I have won funding totalling £107k as PI, and contributed to approx. £6.5 million of successful funding bids as Co-I:

2024:         PI: Targeted Research Growth Studentship, Cardiff University

2024:         PI: Accelerating Modal Shift, Foundation for Integrated Transport, £30k

2023:         Co-I, CLean Energy and Equitable Transportation Solutions (CLEETS). NSF/UKRI, UKRI component £6m.

2022:         PI, Road Traffic Reduction Scenarios, Foundation for Integrated Transport, £21k

2021:         PI, sDNA for RhinoCAD, Shenzhen University £8k

2020:        PI, Sustrans, Modelling Monmouthshire Active Travel Networks, academic component £19k

2020:         PI, 3d Urban Design workflows with sDNA. £6k

2020:         PI, Gamification of data collection on political meta-views, network analysis of social media bubbles and predictors of COVID19 behaviour. £800

2016-19:    Income from industrial & academic sales of sDNA+ software totalling approx. £13k

2019:         PI, Wedderburn Transport Planning & Design Economics, sDNA enhancements for pedestrian modelling, £6k

2017:         Co-I, Welsh Government, Data-Defined Regions for the National Development Framework, £45k

2016:         Co-I, Data Innovation Institute Seedcorn, Improving pedestrian data modelling for a more vibrant high street, £20k. Resulting in the first longitudinal forecast test for a strategic pedestrian model thus providing peer reviewed scientific evidence to support ongoing use of sDNA+ in pedestrian models

2015:         Co-I, ESRC Impact Accelerator, “sDNA for All” (Spatial Network Analysis for active travel), £20k + £44k contributions in kind from partners Arup, WSP, BuroHappold, Wedderburn Transport Planning, Sustrans. Identifying and addressing barriers to uptake of sDNA in sustainable transport modelling. As a result, partners now make use of sDNA+ to deliver pedestrian and cycling analysis to clients (I am aware of around £400,000 of related contracts)

2015:         PI, Evaluation of population catchments, Canal & Rivers Trust, £3,500

2012-16:    Contributions to several successful small bids in which my components total approx. £12k for Cardiff Council, Hong Kong University, Tongji University

2004:    Initiated and wrote core contribution to Intelligent Systems (Evolvable Hardware) EPSRC proposal awarded £330k on subsequent resubmission

Teaching

I currently teach

  • Modern Web Applications on the BSc Computer Science course
  • Algorithms, Data Structures and Programming on the MSc Computing course

I became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2024.

Biography

Senior Lecturer, School of Computer Science & Informatics, Cardiff University 2024-present

Lecturer, School of Computer Science & Informatics, Cardiff University 2020-2024

Research Fellow, Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University 2019-2020

Research Associate, Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University 2011-2019

Research Associate, City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University 2010

PhD Computer Science & Geography, Cardiff University 2006-2010

Development Volunteer, Uganda 2006

Software Engineer, Cambridge Silicon Radio, 2006

Research Associate, Department of Electronics, University of York 2003-2005

MA (hons) Computer Science and Physics, University of Cambridge 1999-2002

Professional memberships

FHEA 2024

AFHEA 2019

 

Committees and reviewing

Working group member for Planetary Health University Research Network

NERC Panel Member “Discipline hopping for environmental solutions” 2021

Data Science Theme Deputy for the Cardiff University & Office for National Statistics strategic partnership 2020-2024

Reviewer for Transportation Research, Int. Jnl Geographic Information Systems, Jnl American Planning Assoc., Urban Studies, PeerJ, Jnl Transport & Health, Int. Jnl. Sustainable Transportation

Supervisions

I am interested in supervising PhD students on any topic aligned with my research. I will generally consider students with a STEM background e.g. computer science, physics, maths, statistics, but also those with a background in a domain such as geography, transport planning, economics, politics, social science coupled with strong quantitative skills and experience with/ability to learn programming.

 

Current supervision

Ana Fredrich-Queiroz

Ana Fredrich-Queiroz

Contact Details

Email CooperCH@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone +44 29208 76072
Campuses Abacws, Room 4.63, Senghennydd Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4AG

Research themes

Specialisms

  • Data Science
  • Sustainable Transportation
  • Socioeconomic modelling
  • Well-being
  • Serious games