ACIT-Hub Executive Board
Dr Helen Cooper
University of Surrey ACIT-Hub LeadHelen has over 13 years’ experience in running research facilities, leading compute strategy, and supporting the management of national collaborations and EU training networks. In 2016 she drove the creation and adoption of Surrey’s first GPU cluster for AI. She now applies her mix of strategic, technical and training expertise to leading the ACIT-Hub.
Dean Roe
University of Surrey ACIT-Hub Co-LeadWith over a decade of experience in Linux systems administration and high-performance computing, Dean has built and led a high-performing team of HPC specialists at the University of Surrey, supporting their professional growth through degree apprenticeship programmes and structured mentoring schemes. A committed advocate for DevOps practices in research infrastructure engineering environments Dean brings both technical depth and a passion for people development to his work. His experience training and mentoring early-career Research Infrastructure Engineers (RIEs) directly shapes the design and delivery of ACIT-Hub's professional development resources.
Dr Jaydeep Mody
University of Surrey ACIT-Hub Co-LeadJaydeep has a PhD in Computational Physics and for the past ten years has been driving HPC cluster use at Surrey. His work involves supporting the University's Research Computing needs, and he currently leads the Research Computing SysAdmin Team with a focus on Linux, Research IT, HPC and Agile/Lean.
Andrew Gittings
University of Oxford ACIT-Hub Co-LeadAndy has over 20 years’ experience in managing HPC and Research Computing facilities, and supports researchers using Linux-based HPC platforms. He also has a NVIDIA DLI Certificate and provides user training in the effective use of HPC clusters. His [HC2.1][DC2.2]experience is highly valued by the ACIT-Hub for training the next generation of RIEs.
Prof Wes Armour
University of Oxford ACIT-Hub Co-LeadWes Armour is Professor of Scientific Computing at the University of Oxford and Associate Head of the MPLS Division (Digital and Information). As Director and Principal Investigator for JADE, JADE2, and JADE2.5 — the UK's first national HPC facilities dedicated to AI and machine learning — he has played a central role in shaping the country's GPU computing infrastructure. He teaches an annual course on CUDA programming for GPUs and helps shape the Hub's training programme.
Dr Twin Karmarkham
University of Sheffield ACIT-Hub Co-LeadTwin has over ten years’ experience developing research software and is an Nvidia Level 2 and Software Carpentry certified instructor with strong experience in training RSEs. He is an active part of the HPC and RSE community, serving as a trustee for the Society of Research Software Engineering between 2023 and 2026. He was the steering committee chair and programme co-chair for the 2025 and 2026 RSE Conference respectively.
Dr Andrew Richards
Imperial College London ACIT-Hub Co-LeadAndrew leads the development of research computing infrastructure and services at Imperial. Prior to Imperial Andrew has led research computing infrastructure activities at the Diamond Light Source, University of Oxford, and the STFC. Andrew has been co-I on HPC projects such as the EPSRC Tier 2 Baskerville system, led the UK National Grid Service, and has been involved in a number of European distributed computing activities including EGEE. He brings this wealth and breadth of experience to drive the ACIT hub training program.
Dr Dugan Witherick
Imperial College London ACIT-Hub Co-LeadDugan has over 15 years’ experience as a Research Infrastructure Engineer, including as Senior Research Computing Specialist at the University of Oxford, and Senior Linux System Administrator at the University of Warwick. He is currently Head of Research Computing Platforms at Imperial.
Dr Matt Williams
University of Bristol ACIT-Hub Co-LeadMatt is the Head of Platforms at the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing which hosts Isambard-AI, Isambard 3 and local University of Bristol DRI facilities. Having previously served as the President of the Society of Research Software Engineering, trained thousands of software engineering students, and worked extensively with HPC, he brings expertise in bridging the gap between the low-level hardware infrastructure and the high-level needs of computational researchers.
Dr Erick Sperandio
University of Surrey ACIT-Hub Co-LeadPrior to joining Surrey in 2022, Erick built the NVIDIA/CIMATEC AI Joint Lab in Brazil and established of one of the largest supercomputing centres there. This has given him extensive experience building teams working with accelerated compute and developing training with a major hardware vendor. While at Surrey, Erick has continued to work closely with RIEs as a champion for end users working with HPC, AI and accelerated compute. His expertise in both AI for Sustainability and Sustainable AI is key to designing the ACIT Hub training programs with sustainability at their core.
ACIT-Hub Team
Dr Anna Swan
University of Surrey ACIT Hub Training and CPD LeadAnna has a PhD in Bioinformatics and has spent the past seven years developing training for scientific audiences, including as the Senior Scientific Training Officer in Digital Learning for the European Bioinfomatics Institute. Her extensive pedagogical expertise allows the ACIT-Hub to develop a range of accessible training targeted to the needs of RIEs.
Elaina Maldonado
University of Surrey ACIT Hub Project ManagerWith a strong background in academic research, Elaina oversees governance, finance, reporting, and risk management at the ACIT Hub, as well as supporting the co-design and delivery of training, to enable the Hub to meet the needs of the RIE community.
Daniel Conway
University of Surrey ACIT Hub Communications OfficerDaniel is a recent English graduate with experience in marketing and communications across HE and FE. He supports the ACIT-Hub with reaching a wide RIE audience and promoting awareness of the importance of RIEs to the research community.
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Sarah Birkmyre
University of Surrey ACIT Hub Events CoordinatorSarah has worked in the events industry for more than 10 years, leading on the design and delivery of impactful marketing conferences and exhibitions as well as continuous professional development events for AQA, Pearson and RM Assessment. She ensures the smooth delivery of the ACIT Hub events programme.