Tom Blanchard

I'm currently working as an IoC Fellow at the Computer Science Department in Swansea University where I split my time between public engagement and teaching. I previously worked at Aberystwyth University as a Research Associate working on wireless sensor networks for agriculture and environment monitoring. I particularly enjoy taking robots, sensor nodes and electronics outside into the real world where they usually end up broken in unforeseen ways. Expect the unexpected and all that. As a result I've gained a fair bit of experience in deploying, testing and fixing these types of systems often in less than ideal conditions. Outside of work I like to put together and fly quadcopters (badly) and generally play with remote control things. I enjoy tinkering with electronics, designing and making various PCBs (which sometimes work) and playing with microcontrollers. Since this bit of Wales is really quite pretty I try to make the most of it by walking around lots of it. The coastal path is still a favourite. Over the last few years I've grown more interested in sailing and half-own a boat with a hole in it. Maybe we will get around to fixing it someday soon.