WMG, University of Warwick is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Matthew Higgins as an Associate Professor, in the area of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles research.

Dr Higgins has spent the last seven years, working in association with some of the UK’s leading defence and telecommunications companies.

He progressed through a number of roles including Research Assistant, Research Fellow, and Senior Teaching Fellow, before being promoted in 2012 to the position of Assistant Professor. His research focused primarily on Optical, Nano, and Molecular Communications. Whilst in this position, Dr Higgins set up the Vehicular Communications Research Laboratory, which aimed to enhance the use of communications systems within the vehicular space.

Dr Higgins is a Senior Member of the IEEE, SMIEE, a member of the IEEE Communications Society, COMSOC, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, FHEA.

Dr Higgins is also a University of Warwick alumnus. He graduated with MEng in Electronic and Communications Engineering in 2005, and he received his PhD in Engineering in 2009.

Dr Higgins is part of the Energy and Electrical Systems team working alongside Professor Paul Jennings.

He comments: “I’m passionate about vehicular communications, and autonomous vehicles promise so much for future transport. A considerable number of research challenges must be addressed, not least of which, is how manufacturers can satisfy the requirements of a new generation of energy aware, highly urbanised, and ubiquitously connected digital consumers. I’m looking forward to working alongside experts in the field at WMG.”