by aastokes | Jan 24, 2026 | Essays, Leadership
Below is a letter sent to my institute in January 2026 after a year in post as Head of The Institute for Bioengineering. It serves a purpose as an open letter on my reflections of 2025. Dear colleagues, Welcome back. I hope the winter break brought you a great...
by aastokes | Jan 24, 2026 | Essays, Leadership
I made a significant career shift in January 2025: moving towards Bioengineering, Bioinspiration, and Biomimetics. I was appointed as Head of The Institute for Bioengineering at The University of Edinburgh. This live essay covers my motivation for this shift and...
by aastokes | Jan 24, 2026 | Essays, Talks
The Digital Frontiers Showcase celebrated the fact that 2023 marked the sixtieth anniversary of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence activities at the University of Edinburgh. The showcase consisted of talks and panel discussions with the University’s world...
by aastokes | Jan 23, 2026 | Essays, Research
The tree of life forms a concise snapshot of the history, and linkages between, all life forms on Earth. Another way to look at this diagram is to imagine what the world would have been like if history had played out differently. If the evolutionary game was run...
by aastokes | Jan 23, 2026 | Essays, Talks
In this live essay I add some more details and reflections on a panel discussion, hosted by Edinburgh Futures Institute, among five experts on what it means to ‘live well’ with robots. The conversation explored the technical, moral, social and economic dimensions of...
