Dissertations

What follows is an ad-hoc list of topical research areas for projects. I am happy to work with anyone in the research fields of cybersecurity/networking/distributed systems/blockchain and other areas. These are previous/current topic areas over the years.

1999/2000 – Networking

  • .NET – Peer-to-Peer Networked Apps with the Microsoft .NET Framework
  • Adaptinet – Adaptive Networking with the Adaptinet SDK
  • Internet Congestion – Examining bottlenecks leading to Internet Congestion
  • MMStream – Throughput/Bandwidth measurements
  • Streaming Video – Through the Real Time Protocol and JMF
  • Streaming Audio/Video – Examined using The Real Time Protocol (RTP) with JMF
  • MapPoint Web Services – Integrate location-based services, such as maps, driving directions, and proximity searches into applications
  • iBus – Streaming Multimedia
  • Location Based Services – Interfacing to a Mobile Positioning Center
  • Buzzpad – A Peer-to-Peer Application Framework
  • Jade – Java Agent DEvelopment Framework – run Agents on Mobile Devices
  • XMIDDLE – A data sharing middleware for ad-hoc networks
  • Autonomic Computing – IBM Autonomic Computing Toolkit for development of autonomic behavior

2000/01 – Network Simulation

  • Network Simulations – Research various parameters and their influence on TCP/UDP
  • Cellular IP – new mobile host protocol that is optimized to provide access to a Mobile IP enabled Internet in support of fast moving wireless hosts. llular IP
  • Nipper – Neat Internet Protocol Packet EditoR
  • JavaSim – component-based, compositional simulation environment.
  • SSF.NET – high-performance network modeling, simulation, and analysis.
  • nscript – Java GUI front-end for the Network Simulator from Berkeley
  • BlueHoc simulator – this provides a Bluetooth extension to the NS-2 simulator
  • BonnMotion – Create and analyse ad hoc mobility scenarios.
  • SUMO – Create and simulate urban traffic mobility scenarios in the city

2001/02 – Distributed Systems

  • Java Spaces – Distributed Systems
  • JDBC – Java Database Connectivity Standard
  • Patterns – Using Patterns to Document Adaptable Java Frameworks
  • Middleware – Creating middleware for streaming media
  • iBus – A Java Middleware Message Bus System
  • JTAPI – Java API for telephony call control
  • Virtual Network Computer – Source code for accesing remote computers
  • OmniOrb – robust high-performance CORBA 2 ORB
  • SwarmCast – a P2P content distribution system that employs Forward Error Correction codes to perform fast, distributed downloads of large, popular content
  • OMNI – Operating Space Missions as Nodes on the Internet
  • Java TSpaces – Communication middleware to create the first instances of Intelligent Connectionware components
  • Creating Self Managing Computer Systems
  • Web Robots – Harvest the information on the web using Automated Robots
  • Automated Teller Machines – Investigate problems with Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) Navigation Menus

2002/03 – Java

  • J2ME – Java2 Micro-Edition for Portable Devices such as phones & PDA’s (3G Email?)
  • SMS – Using Java to send SMS messages
  • Forte IDE – Network Monitoring Tool using Java beans with Forte
  • Reflection – Modifying a system’s behaviour and implementation incrementally at runtime
  • iBus – Messaging framework
  • Middleware – Java Middleware Frameworks
  • RTP – RTP Monitoring Framework
  • JMF Demultiplexor – Demultiplexer plug-in for extracting individual media tracks
  • Enterprise Java APIs – Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI)etc
  • SMS – Short Message Service Java Development Toolkit from Noctor
  • SMS 2 – Preventing kids from skipping school with SMS
  • FEC – Java based Forward Error Correction for mulicast Applications
  • Brazil project – web-based infrastructure linking people securely to info, computers/other devices leveraging existing standards & protocols.
  • jXTransformer – Store and retrieve XML files from relational database
  • jboss – Open Source, standards-compliant, application server implemented in 100% Java

2003/04 – Multimedia

2004/05 – Wireless & Collaborative Networking

2005/06 – Web Based Programmimng

2006/07 – Intelligence & Mobility

2007/08 – Security & Gaming

  • Geopriv – Geographic Location/Privacy (Geopriv) architecture for sharing and protecting location information as it travels across IP
  • Security – Using ‘Shields Up’ to test for computer weaknesses
  • Software Assurance – Creating error free software. Verifying before creation.
  • Spam Mail – Tracing the spammers
  • Video Security – Ramping Up Security With Streaming Video
  • Uncrackable Encryption – OTP One Time Pad system using a simple XOR of message and key
  • Steganography – The art of encoding hidden messages within images
  • Honeynet – Building Intelligent Intrusion Detection Systems
  • HoneyMonkey – Stop attacks that use Web servers to exploit unpatched browser vulnerabilities and install malware
  • Tackling SPAM with Machine Learning – Use Weka (collection of machine learning algorithms for data mining tasks) to address SPAM
  • SPAM Prevention – Use Nolisting to fight spam through specifying a primary MX that is always unavailable.
  • Illegal Accessing of USB Drives – Detect access and/or copying of information on portable storage devices
  • Mobile Gaming – Develop educational games for mobile devices with Java
  • Collaborative Mobile Games – Campus-wide WiFi Collaborative Mobile Game
  • Adventure Games – Create point-and-click educational adventure games
  • RoboCode – Design a small automated 6-wheeled robot to fight it out with other robots until only one is left
  • Xbox 360 Educational Gaming – Design an educational tool and deploy it on the Xbox 360 using XNA Game Studio Express
  • Nintendo DS 3D World – Create an interactive 3D virtual tour of campus to help students familarise themselves as early as possible
  • 3D Virtual Campus Tour – 3D Virtual Campus Walkthrough with Google Sketch, 3D warehouse and Google earth
  • Barcoding the web – Determing Location in Urban Gaming with online Smart Bar Codes
  • Intel Mobile Platform SDK 1.2 – Develop and deploy compelling mobile games that are tuned for the mobile world.
  • Gaming Physics Engine – Develop improved algorithms to deal with penetration and sustained contact in games

2008/09 – Web 2.0 & Search

  • Web Services – developing with the Microsoft Web Services Development Kit
  • Flickr API – Develop 3rd party Flickr services using the Flickr API
  • Google Desktop SDK – Write a desktop search API plugin to search web history from a web browser
  • My Me Mapping – Pinpointing Users in CyberSpace through Online Mapping Services
  • Microsoft Gadgets for Live.com – Integrate educational gadgets with Live.com where you decide the content and layout.
  • Mappr! – Use Mappr to create an interactive environment for exploring place, based on the photos people upload to Flickr
  • Google Web Toolkit (GWT) – Build an AJAX application which provides a visualisation of an Autonomous Network Scenario
  • Intel Web 2.0 Technology Development Kit – Web 2.0 applications which adapt to state changes such as battery power levels and bandwidth variations.
  • Geotagged Wikipedia Entries – Build applications which integrate with the information on Wikipedia for location based applications
  • Google Earth – Mashing Up applications with Google Earth
  • YouTube Speech Interface – Mashing Up a YouTube Application by incoporating speech so as to have a taking party jukebox
  • Emotional Search – Integrate location into search dependent on emotional queries
  • Search Engine Optimization – Comparing the claims of automated search engine optimization software versus manual search engine submission
  • Google Web APIs – Automonitor the web for new information on a subject using the Google APIs
  • Web Site Personalisation – Automated techniques for maximizing the performance of personalized Web sites
  • Google Adwords – Develop an automated techniques for managing Google Adwords campaigns
  • XML based News Intelligence – Making News Understandable to Computers

2009/10 – Wireless Sensor Networks

2010/11 – Ambient Intelligence & Pervasive Healthcare

2011/12 – Location Based Services and Positioning

2012/13 – Location & Mobile

2013/14 – Movement Detection & Security

2014/15 – Network & Security Analytics

2015/16 – Human Behaviour Detection

  • Undo Computing – Restore system integrity after an intrusion, by retroactively undoing changes made by an adversary while preserving legitimate user actions
  • User Mobility Determination – Using WiFi to determine people movement patterns.
  • Detecting Human Movement – Use off the shelf mobile phones to determine human movement & their subsequent behaviour.
  • Remote Respiratory Clinics – Create a solution to allow electronic stethoscope recordings to be sent to hospital consultant.
  • The Physical Web – Use Google’s open Eddystone-URL Bluetooth beacon format to provide new interactions for users
  • Mobile Phone based Social Sensing – Capture social and behavioural aspects of phone users with inbuilt sensors

2016/17 – Security

2017/18 – Indoor Movement Detection/Web Scraping

2018/19 – Security/Data Science/Indoor Location

2019/20 – NLP/Security/Indoor Location

2020/21 – Web Scraping/Legal Technology

Past Thesis Examples

  • 2000 – Network Congestion by Colleen Bradley
  • 2000 – Web Enabled Legal Aid by Lee Higgins
  • 2000 – Java Middleware by Martin Golden
  • 2001 – Short Message Service by Peter McLoughlin
  • 2001 – SMS by Richard Craig
  • 2001 – Group SMS Messaging application by Lee Stuart
  • 2001 – J2ME Email Application which runs on a Motorola Accompli 008 by Tony Solon
  • 2001 – Web Collaboration Environment by Christy Craig
  • 2001 – Global Positioning Satellite Movement for Mobile Devices by Martin McCartney
  • 2002 – Educational Web Collaboration Environment by Feena O’Reilly
  • 2002 – SMS threashold Alarm Generic API Service by Kevin O’Connor
  • 2002 – A Middleware Framework for Streaming Media to Heterogeneous Clients by Alan Bradley
  • 2002 – VoiceXML by Ashlean McNulty
  • 2003 – Role of Border Gateway Protocol in Controlling Congestion by Lorraine Bradley
  • 2003 – Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) Transcoding by Ronan Toland
  • 2003 – Factors influencing Web Page loading delay by Connor Duffy
  • 2003 – Illustrating the Semantic Web using RDF by Gary Gumbleton
  • 2004 – Online Collaboration with Communication Server MX by Kathleen O’Connor
  • 2004 – An evaluation of Steganography Image Techniques by Karen Bailey. You can also download the Steganography Software
  • 2004 – A Peer to Peer System by Jonathan Doherty
  • 2004 – WikiWikiWeb by Kiera Doherty
  • 2004 – Wireless Tracking using GPS by Alison Woodrow
  • 2005 – Scheduled RSS Feeds for Streaming Multimedia to The Desktop using RSS enclosures by Sheila McKinney
  • 2005 – A Location Based Mobile Tourist Guide by Keith Smith
  • 2005 – Automated Braodcast Media Monitoring using the Google API by Aiden Doherty
  • 2005 – The Deployment of Wiki in the Workplace by Cliona Murphy
  • 2005 – Investigating Web Site Design Conformance with Web Accessibility Initiative Guidelines by Nicolle Walters
  • 2005 – Finanical Monitoring with the Google API by Melissa McFadden
  • 2006 – Securing Wireless Devices by Paul Canning
  • 2006 – Wide Area Gaming Middleware using RFID by Derek Harkin
  • 2007 – Steganography Detector by Joanne McDevitt
  • 2007 – Multilingual Mobile Device Portal by Winston Huang
  • 2007 – Investigating HCI problems in ATM menu Design by David King
  • 2007 – WiFi Location Estimation Algoirthm by Eoghan Furey
  • 2007 – Urban Gaming – Matching Shapes with RFID by Martin Porter
  • 2008 – Adaptive Mobile Applications by Conrad Deighan
  • 2008 – A Voice Enabled YouTube Jukebox by Emma Mc Gonigle
  • 2008 – Bridging the Gap between Online and Offline Apps with the Google Gears API: A Case Study for Diabetics by Karen Lee
  • 2008 – Continuous RFID-Enabled Location Awareness by Stephen Norrby
  • 2009 – Locating and Logging Devices using Ekahau Positioning System by Colm Mc Menamin
  • 2009 – An Ultra-Wideband Location Positioning Navigation System for Mobile Robotics by James Knox
  • 2009 – Indoor Wireless Location Determination using the Trapeze LA200 by Jude McGlinchey
  • 2009 – RFID Implementation for the Electronic identification of Cattle by William Mc Devitt
  • 2010 – A Practical Network Coding and Routing Scheme based on Maximum Flow Combination by Lianlong Wu
  • 2010 – Integrating Geolocation into Web Applications for additional security by jonathan Orr
  • 2010 – Discriminating between Nasal and Mouth Breathing by Peter Yuen
  • 2010 – An Investigation into the Reachability of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technologies in Adverse Conditions by Christopher Laughlin
  • 2011 – Incorporating Radio Frequency Identification into the Production Line for Work Flow Improvement by Andrew Mc Clintock
  • 2011 – Google Earth 3D Virtual Campus Tour by Anthony Mc Taggart
  • 2012 – The Detection of Empty Resist Bottles or Air in the resist lines of a Polaris Coating Tool by Terence Sweeney
  • 2012 – RFID Lone Worker Tracking by Fergal Canning
  • 2012 – An automated system for reading hand measurements in patients with rheumatoid arthritis by Aaron Bond
  • 2012 – Building an active RFID people/asset tracking system with mesh networking by Sean Carlin
  • 2012 – Assessing Hand Movement in Arthritic Patients Using Wearable Glove Technology by Roisin Lautman
  • 2013 – Detecting Anonymous Proxy Usage by Jonathan McKeague
  • 2014 – Using Leap Motion and Gamification to Facilitate and Encourage Rehabilitation in those with Hand Injuries by Jamie Taylor
  • 2014 – Text based steganography by Robert Lockwood
  • 2015 – Usability and Security of Password Creation Schemes by Andrew Snodgrass
  • 2015 – Detection of Social Interaction Using Consumer Grade Hardware via Device Free Passive Localisation by Tim Dougan
  • 2016 – Voice biometric identification of users based on unique vocal characteristics by Bart Kaszewczuk
  • 2016 – A Location Aware Retail Application using Bluetooth Beacons by Gary Mansell
  • 2018 – Scraping Websites for Law Enforcement by Evan Gallagher
  • 2018 – A Task-based Interaction Chatbot by Dana Doherty

Research Writing Up & Publishing

How to Structure Your Thesis.
A Survival Guide to a PhD – A fantastic realistic overview by Andrej Karpathy.
How to structure a computer science PhD – Old informal sound advice from UCL
What should a PhD look like – advice from Barry Witcher, Norwich Business School
A structured approach to organising a PhD thesis – advice from a doctoral consoritum in 1995
How I wrote my PhD in 3 months – James Hayton PhD
The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century – Steven Pinker, Harvard University
Writing your thesis – Champion et al.
How to read a scientific paper.
Advice on Research and writing
Guide to Grammar and Writing by Charles Darling
Writing and Presenting Your Thesis or Dissertation by S. Joseph Levine, Ph.D.
How To Write A Dissertation or Bedtime Reading For People Who Do Not Have Time To Sleep
Notes On The PhD Degree by D. Comer.
On Being A Scientist: Responsible Conduct In Research

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