Dr Kenji Takeda is Solutions Architect and Technical Manager for Microsoft Research. His current focus is helping researchers take advantage of cloud computing through big data and data science approaches, including the Azure for Research programme – www.azure4research.com. He has extensive experience in Cloud Computing, High Performance and High Productivity Computing, Data-intensive Science, Scientific Workflows, Scholarly Communication, Engineering and Educational Outreach. He has a passion for developing novel computational approaches to tackle fundamental and applied problems in science and engineering.

He was previously Co-Director of the Microsoft Institute for High Performance Computing, and Senior Lecturer in Aeronautics, at the University of Southampton, UK. There he worked with leading high value manufacturing companies such as Airbus, Agusta Westland, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Formula One teams, to develop state-of-the-art capability for improving science and engineering processes. His technical expertise is in the areas of aerodynamics, aeroacoustics and flight simulation.

Presentation: eResearch in Action - Accelerating Knowledge, Enabling Decisions

Science and technology are advancing at a tremendous pace in every facet of our lives. Advances in computing capability, connectivity, ubiquitous sensing, and ambient intelligence promise huge opportunities in almost every domain. The resulting data deluge, however, presents many technical and social challenges that must be overcome to realise the full potential for data science and data-driven innovation. In this talk we describe how computing at scale is enabling data collection, management, visualisation and modelling from astronomy and environmental science, to healthcare and humanities research. We will explore how cloud computing is evolving, and Microsoft Azure is helping to accelerate knowledge discovery and support decision-making for business and society. See http://www.azure4research.com.