The Digital Nexus building

Gallery of images

• Can advanced computing be sustainable?

  Artificial Intelligence (AI) could transform our approaches to societal and environmental challenges, but only if it doesn’t make the same problems worse. Computing produces 2.1-3.9% of all carbon emissions, and that’s before the impact of generative AI like ChatGPT becomes clear.

  This trajectory is unsustainable. Several major tech firms have abandoned unachievable environmental goals. Many data centres consume as much electricity as a small city. Growth is not possible without restricting power for others or radically increasing generation and grid capacities.

  At St Andrews, our expertise covers power consumption, chip design, algorithm selection, resource-constrained machine learning, and applications in sensing, reasoning, and data analytics. We are in a strong position to make waves in this field. By empowering undergraduates to work with postgraduate researchers and partners, we will discover, develop and design solutions for a sustainable AI future.

• Shedding light on visual impairment

  Despite being relatively common, Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) is often overlooked compared to other visual impairments.

  Many cases go undiagnosed, while research suggests that one child in every mainstream classroom may be affected.

  Our researchers are changing lives around the world, thanks to their efforts to create virtual reality programs and educational videos to help people understand how CVI affects vision. In practice, this means that our experts have tested simulations in a wide range of environments, helping teachers, museum experts, parents and educators design better spaces for those living with CVI.

  Our free resources have already reached over two hundred countries and territories.

• Improving dementia diagnosis

  Dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease, is one of the most pressing health challenges of our time. Despite being a leading cause of death in the UK and worldwide, it remains the last major disease without widely available or effective interventions.

  Our new approach aims to revolutionise dementia research, bringing fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to tackle this devastating disease. Utilising data collected over many years, we aim to identify the earliest signs of dementia which we believe occurs in the brain decades before symptoms appear.

  Our mission is ambitious but clear: to speed progress in early diagnostics and cure Alzheimer’s within the next ten years so that everyone can enjoy better brain health for life.

• Protecting species worldwide; preventing wildlife crime

  Modelling methods, developed at St Andrews, are used for wildlife population assessments by governments, NGOs and international organisations in more than 115 countries worldwide. They are used for biodiversity assessment, conservation, and management of a huge range of species, including whales, snow leopards, seals, elephants, apes, birds, ants, trees and flowering plants.

  Our research has been especially instrumental in the ongoing battle against wildlife crime in Africa. We also collaborate with governments and NGOs to predict other threats to wildlife safety, such as climate change, land use, and human capacity.

• Fertility: new research, new life

  For those who have experienced cancer and other major treatments, the fertility journey to conceive can be fraught with challenges. Now, St Andrews computer scientists have developed a Fertility Calculator designed to help couples who are navigating a journey that involves assisted conception.

  By combining data with predictions, our researchers are now able to identify those who respond poorly to treatments.

  The impact of this discovery is life-changing: it allows personalised interventions and so maximises a couple’s chances of conceiving a baby.