Professor Lord Bhattacharyya was pleased to welcome The Rt. Hon Theresa May MP, Home Secretary, to WMG today.

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya gave an overview of WMG research and development, and the impact that this has on the economy.

Theresa May, was then introduced to Professor Tim Watson, Director of WMG’s Cyber Security Centre.

Professor Watson was able to highlight the work of WMG’s fascinating E-CRIME Project which looks to develop an economic model to measure the impact of cybercrime in various industry sectors, managing and deterring cybercrime as well as the need to develop concrete, sector-specific controls and counter-measures.

She also heard from Metrology Project Manager, Dr Alex Attridge who talked about the Product Evaluation Technologies (PET) group and was given an update on PVCIT (Premium Vehicle Customer Interface Technologies). PVCIT is a Centre of Excellence part funded by Advantage West Midlands (AWM) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and EPSRC (WIMRC) to provide support to industry based within the region.

Theresa May also heard about some of the work the PET group has been doing with West Midlands Police, and was shown the scanners and 3D ‘Power Wall’. The 3D laser scanning can capture millions of data points very quickly, helping to document and model a real-world environment. A virtual crime scene can then be created and populated with further forensic information, physical evidence, and digital links to witness statements, producing a realistic model that can be used in the courtroom.

Theresa May, said: 'It was a pleasure to visit The University of Warwick today and hear about the fascinating work being done by WMG research in relation to cybercrime and cyber security. I was also very interested to hear about some of the innovative work they are doing with West Midlands Police.'

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya comments: “I was delighted to welcome Theresa May to WMG. She has been able to speak directly with our academics who are working at the forefront of cyber security and with the West Midlands Police to see how our research directly impacts companies and organisations.”