“We’re all stories in the end…”
My name is Fraser Greenroyd and this? Well this is my story.
First and foremost, I am a Computer Scientist. I was not born into it but ever since I had my first computer (a Windows 95 machine) I have had an interest in computing. From September 2010 to July 2013, I studied Computer Science at an undergraduate level at Keele University, obtaining my BSc (Hons) and gaining a piece of paper (certificate) that proved I knew something about computers. For a long time that piece of paper was not put to good use, gathering dust inside my filing cabinet until December 2013 when I was offered the opportunity to undertake an Engineering Doctorate degree with Loughborough University and BuroHappold Engineering.
Unlike a traditional PhD, the EngD places researchers directly in industry, allowing us to see first hand the benefits our research has upon the community at large. The end result is the same however, with a thesis output, academic journals, conference proceedings and of course, the coveted title of Doctor. The only difference is the end of the title, as opposed to Doctor’s of Philosophy, EngD’s become Doctor’s of Engineering.
Since April 2014, when my particular EngD began, I have been researching efficiency in healthcare, with a view to increase the efficiency and improve the experience of attending (for patients, visitors and staff). Based in the Bath office, I work closely with the Smart team at BuroHappold under the industrial supervision of Dr. Becky Hayward and Dr. Shrikant Sharma. On the academic side in Loughborough, I am supported by the academic supervision by Prof. Andrew Price and Dr. Peter Demian, working with the Centre for Innovative and Collaborative Construction Engineering (CICE).
The focus of my research is, at the moment, looking at the design and construction of healthcare buildings and processes to and optimise the layouts to be at their best. For the majority of this, I am using my computer science background to build prediction and optimisation tools to be used by the Smart team on project work, rather than being directly involved with any construction work. The benefit of this is being able to see my work being used on projects first hand and seeing the benefits that can bring to the NHS and other stakeholders.
Until 2018, this is the current chapter of my life and so far, it’s looking to be an interesting one. But that’s not the be-all and end-all of who I am or what I do, or even, what this site is all about!
Outside of computing, I volunteer as a motorcycle road racing official up and down the country at various race circuits for various clubs. My primary club is the British Motorcycle Racing Club, or Bemsee to its friends. Bemsee is one of the oldest racing clubs still in operation having been founded in 1909. I began my voluntary career with Bemsee in 2003, working in race control typing up the race logs and incident reports (somehow my keenness in computing ended up in my voluntary one as well). I went to meetings with my father, who has been involved in motorsport since the 80’s (long before I was born). In 2007, at the age of 16, I became a Startline official where I began my on-track career. Since then, I have worked my way from the track back into race control where I started only this time, I do so as one of the youngest ACU Clerks of the Course in the country, a position I have had since I obtained my probationary CoC licence in 2009. I joined the race control team at Bemsee at the end of 2013 and since then I’ve helped run meetings at most tracks in the UK, which included running the first ever motorcycle race meeting on the Silverstone International circuit in May 2014.
It is my intention that this site will become a form of scratch pad for my thoughts and ideas during the course of my research, work and volunteering. Alas, I’m not very good at remembering where I put a scrap of paper when moving from one place to the next but an online tank of thoughts is probably fitting for a computer scientist. Alongside this, I hope to record the findings of my research into my family tree, looking back at where I came from and the unique set of circumstances that evolved to allow me to be where I am today. I also hope to record more of my story as I make my way through life and maybe one day, my great-descendants will stumble upon this site and wonder how I coped using such out of date tools as they will then be.
While I pass by feel free to say hello, drop me a line or leave a comment on a post for some collaborative thinking.
“What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.”