Gibbons Memorial Lecture Series

The lectures in this series will be streamed live.
Currently you can test the link to ensure that your computer is set up correctly. The lectures in this series are archived below.

The Gibbons Lectures is an annual series of talks given in the Department of Computer Science in association with the Institute of IT Professionals NZ (formerly the New Zealand Computer Society). There will be usually about 4 lectures delivered at weekly intervals in the first semester. The goal of each lecture is to describe detailed developments in a particular research area to a general but technical audience - to Computer Science students at all levels, to IT practitioners in other departments and outside the University. Each year the speakers and topics will be widely advertised well in advance. The first lecture each year will be delivered by a prestigious speaker, often from overseas. The remaining contributors to the series will be from the Computer Science Department or from associated researchers in other departments and institutions in New Zealand.

The lecture series is managed by a subcommittee of the Computer Science Department, chaired by the head of department or nominee. As well as organizing the speakers and the event itself the committee will ensure that the lectures in the series are archived and made available on this website.

The Computer Science Department is committed to funding the Gibbons Lectures in its initial stages. However, the prestige of the lectures and their permanence depends on establishing a permanent source of funding. To that end the department has established a fund that will be built up to provide support. We welcome contributions to the fund. If you would like to contribute, please complete the form and post it to the address provided on the form or you can make a gift online at www.givingtoauckland.org.nz/ and choose Peter Gibbons Lectures Fund.

2013 Gibbons Lectures: Picture This! Computer Graphics in New Zealand

The lectures in the Gibbons Lecture Series describe developments in research in Computer Science and are aimed at a general but technical audience - Computer Science students at all levels, IT practitioners in other departments and outside the University.

Computer Graphics concerns the generation and manipulation of images by a computer, often with the assistance of specialized software and hardware. The development of Computer Graphics has made computers easier to interact with, and made them better for assisting us to understand and interpret many types of data. Computer Graphics has had a profound impact on entertainment media - it has revolutionized animation in movies and has led to the video game industry. Nowadays Computer Graphics images have become omnipresent - computer imagery is found in newspapers, on television in weather reports, in GPS devices, and in all kinds of medical investigation and surgical procedures.

Research in the field of Graphics has been of long-term interest for Computer Science in New Zealand. This has been matched by some ground-breaking uses of Computer Graphics in advertising, enhancing sports viewing and, of course, in movies.

In this series of lectures we have presentations that cover a range of topics in the area. As lead speaker for the 2013 Gibbons Lectures we have Professor Geoff Wyvil from the University of Otago whose Graphics research has been fundamental – he will introduce us to the "magic" behind the discipline. At the other extreme, the next speaker, John Lewis of Victoria University will introduce some of the latest ideas being implemented at Weta Digital Research. The final pair of lectures, from Auckland University staff, represent two extremes of Graphics application - Dr Burkhard Wuensche will deal with Computer Graphics in game playing and Professor Gordon Mallinson will discuss the importance of Computer Graphics to the practice of Engineering.

1. May 2: A Better Paintbush?
   - Professor Geoff Wyvill, Department of Computer Science, The University of Otago
2. May 9: Why Academic Research Matters in Visual Effects
   - John Lewis, Victoria University of Wellington & Weta Digital Research
3. May 16: Computer Games: Friend or Foe? Opportunities and Research Challenges in Game Technology
   - Dr Burkhard Wuensche, Department of Computer Science, The University of Auckland
4. May 23: Engineering Computer Graphics
   - Professor Gordon Mallinson, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland

All of the lectures will be presented in room OGGB3/260-092 on level 0 of the Owen G Glenn building on Grafton Road. The lectures will commence at 6:30pm, with refreshments being provided in the lobby from 6:00pm. Note that there is public parking in the basement of the Owen G Glenn building, accessed from Grafton Road.

The recording of lectures can be found at:

2012: The Turing Legacy

• Apr 26: Alan Turing and the Unsolvable Problem: To Halt or Not to Halt - That is the Question - Prof Cristian S. Calude
• May 3: Alan Turing and the Secret Cyphers: Breaking the German Codes at Bletchley Park - Prof Jack Copeland
• May 10: Alan Turing and the Computing Engine: Turing's achievements in practical computing - Professor Brian Carpenter & Professor Bob Doran
• May 17: Alan Turing and the Artificial Brain: The Development of Artificial Intelligence - Assoc Prof Ian Watson

2011: Applying Computer Power

• Apr 27: Computing outside the box - Prof Ian Foster
• May 3: eResearch in New Zealand - Prof Mark Gahegan
• May 11: Co-operating computers - problems and prospects - Prof James Goodman
• May 18: Attached processors for real-time applications - Assoc Prof John Morris

2010: Facing the Data Mountain

• May 5: How the dragons work - Prof Ian Witten
• May 12: Theres gold in them thar mountains - Prof Gillian Dobbie
• May 19: The Health Care Revolution - Alec Holt
• May 26: Internet Challenges - Dr Nevil Brownlee

2009: Computing: From Theory to Practice

• May 13: The Combinatorics at the Heart of the Problem: - Charles Colbourn
• May 20: Making Software Testing Easier: - Myra B. Cohen
• May 27: Developing Darwin's Computer: - Alexei Drummond (Co-sponsored by IEEE Computer Society)
• June 3: Technologies for Deep Learning: - John Hamer, Andrew Luxton-Reilly, Beryl Plimmer

Peter's academic career began at Massey University where he completed a BSc in Mathematics and Statistics with 1st class Honours in 1970. This was followed in 1972 by an MSc in Computer Science with Distinction - the first degree in Computer Science awarded in New Zealand. He completed his PhD in Toronto then returned to New Zealand to lecture at Massey, moving to Auckland in 1980 to the newly established Department of Computer Science. He was with our department through to his retirement in 2004, including a 3-year period as Head of Department from 1997. After retirement he continued his association under an Honorary appointment. Peter's research area was on the boundary between Mathematics and Computer Science in the field of Combinatorics. Peter's particular interests included block designs (especially Steiner systems), Latin squares, graph domination questions, and the development and implementation of computer algorithms for combinatorial search and enumeration. Peter taught his research specialization both at graduate and undergraduate level. He also taught introductory programming to first-year students and at a more advanced level. He got involved with new areas, such as Multimedia and BioInformatics, where his knowledge and expertise could be applied. Peter inspired many others into research, often drawn from the thousands of students whom he taught. These colleagues can be found throughout New Zealand and the world.