ÌÀÍ·ÌõÔ­´´

Chris Town

Email: cpt23@cam.ac.uk

Website:

Dr Chris Town

Bye-Fellow, Director of Studies in Computer Science (Parts II and III)
University Positions
Affiliated Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Technology
Subjects
Specialising in
Computer Vision

Chris Town is an Affiliated Lecturer and Research Fellow in the Department of Computer Science and Technology (Computer Laboratory) where he primarily teaches Computer Vision and related courses to undergraduates and MPhil students. His current main research focus is on high performance mobile computer vision and on pattern recognition algorithms for the biological and medical sciences.

Academic interests

Chris Town’s academic interests include: 

  • Computer Vision
  • Pattern recognition
  • Biometrics
  • High performance deep learning
  • Medical informatics.

Degrees obtained

  • BA/MA, Cantab.
  • PhD, Cantab.

Awards and prizes

  • ICPRS best paper award, 2022.
  • Wolfson College Senior Research Fellowship, 2009.
  • BCS Distinguished Dissertation (PhD) Awards recipient, 2006.
  • Wolfson College Junior Research Fellowship, 2005.
  • Trinity College Rouse Ball Scholarship, 2005.
  • ICVS best cognitive vision paper award, 2003.
  • Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Industrial Fellowship, 2001.

Biography

Chris Town’s research lies at the nexus of computer vision, information retrieval, machine learning, and language processing. Together with Dr David Sinclair he pioneered the ontology based approach to automated visual information processing. His PhD work (supervised by Professor John Daugman OBE) and post-doctoral research in this area at Cambridge were honoured in the UK's distinguished dissertation competition, and led to the award of a Trinity College Rouse Ball Scholarship, an Industrial Fellowship from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, and a JRF at Wolfson College. He previously worked at AT&T Labs Research, where he reported directly to Dr David Belanger (AT&T Chief Scientist) and worked with Dr Yann LeCun (the pioneer of deep convolutional neural networks).

Chris is also a Fellow, Tutor and DoS at Wolfson College, as well as Chief Technology Officer of Imense Ltd, a high-tech company co-founded by him that develops novel image analysis, optical character recognition and document verification solutions.

He has many active interdisciplinary research collaborations with biologists, ecologists and medical researchers. Chris is a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London.

Other interests

Photography, SCUBA diving, marine biology.

Department link

Publications, links and resources

Find more information about Chris Town's publications and research on his . 

Hear from our students

  • Photo of postgraduate student

    Ellie

    Postgraduate

    ÌÀÍ·ÌõÔ­´´ has been a great home for me during my PhD. I chose ÌÀÍ·ÌõÔ­´´ for a number of reasons – first, the location. We are central enough to be within easy walking distance of most things, but far enough away to avoid the hustle and bustle (and tourists in summer!). The College also has extensive grounds, with amenities like the hockey pitch, football pitch and tennis courts all on site. Secondly, the accommodation is some of the best I’ve seen in Cambridge. My house was newly renovated when...

    Read more
    Postgraduate
  • Photograph of a postgraduate student

    Tara

    Postgraduate

    ÌÀÍ·ÌõÔ­´´ has all the benefits of being large, historical and prestigious college, whilst also retaining fantastic welfare: the staff and other students all care about each other, and will be there to cheer you on when you are thriving, but also there to support you if you need any help. I chose Jesus due to several reasons, including its prime location, where it is very central, and easy to access everywhere, even if you work in one of the institutes further out. I also selected Jesus for its MCR...

    Read more
    Postgraduate
  • Photograph of a postgraduate student

    Fiamma

    Postgraduate

    ÌÀÍ·ÌõÔ­´´, my home. I am truly grateful to be able to call ÌÀÍ·ÌõÔ­´´ my second home. It was my preferred option when I first applied for my MPhil and I could not be happier to still be here during my PhD! There are many reasons why Jesus stands out from the other colleges: from its fantastic facilities to its glorious formal dinners and to its wonderful café and brewery room. The Quincentenary Library is a lovely place to study. It has many spaces to choose from and everything...

    Read more
    Postgraduate
  • Photograph of a postgraduate student

    Dulcie

    Postgraduate

    ÌÀÍ·ÌõÔ­´´ is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and historical colleges at Cambridge! It is also, in my opinion, one of the most supportive colleges: from wellbeing to the porters there is always someone to ask for advice, support, or to talk through your stress. I chose Jesus for many reasons. Firstly, it’s right in the heart of the city centre which is amazing not only for that quick top-up shop but also to explore the beautiful city of Cambridge even while busy (it’s so easy to go for...

    Read more
    Postgraduate
  • ÌÀÍ·ÌõÔ­´´ Postgraduate Student

    Imogen

    Postgraduate

    I chose Cambridge for my PGCE as it’s the leading UK institution for teacher training and Education, with an exciting, research-dominated, cutting edge course. The staff are welcoming and approachable, and make studying here an absolute joy. I’ve already completed one of my three primary school placements, in a reception class in a school just outside Cambridge, and am due to start the next one soon. I chose Jesus because of its reputation as a sporty College, but the proximity to the city centre is a big bonus. Jesus also...

    Read more
    Postgraduate