Nigel Davies

Nigel Davies is a pervasive-computing researcher at Lancaster University who builds context-aware systems and deploys them in public, from the GUIDE tourist guide to a campus network of more than 100 displays. After a BSc and PhD in computer science at Lancaster, he returned in 1994 to help create its Mobile Computing group and was awarded a personal chair in 2000. He was Program Chair of Ubicomp in 2004 and Program Co-Chair of MobiSys in 2006, edited IEEE Pervasive Computing, and coauthored the 2014 book Pervasive Displays with Sarah Clinch and Florian Alt. By 2016 he co-directed Lancaster's Data Science Institute, and his recent work covers privacy-aware personalisation and analytics for smart environments as well as human memory augmentation. He is Head of Department and Distinguished Professor in Lancaster's School of Computing and Communications.

Now at: Lancaster University
Badges: Loyal

Timeline

1994

Lancaster's Mobile Computing group

He holds a BSc and PhD in computer science, both from Lancaster, and works as a visiting researcher at the Swedish Institute of Computer Science. He returns to Lancaster in 1994 to help create the university's Mobile Computing group.
1999–2000

Context-awareness and a year at Sony

In 1999, he is a coauthor of the paper "Towards a Better Understanding of Context and Context-Awareness" with Gregory Abowd, Anind Dey, Peter Brown, Mark Smith and Pete Steggles, published at the Handheld and Ubiquitous Computing symposium. From 1999 to 2000, he spends a year as a visiting researcher at Sony's Distributed Systems Lab in San Jose, working on integrating mobile devices with home AV networks.
2000

GUIDE and a personal chair

In 2000, he coauthors the MobiCom paper on GUIDE with Keith Cheverst, Keith Mitchell and Adrian Friday: a hand-held context-aware tourist guide for city visitors, deployed in a major tourist destination and evaluated in a field trial. In recognition of his work in establishing Lancaster as a major research center in mobile computing, he is awarded a personal chair in the Computing Department in 2000.
2004–2011

Chairing conferences, editing a magazine

He is Program Chair for Ubicomp in 2004 and Program Co-Chair for MobiSys in 2006. By 2011, he is editor-in-chief of IEEE Pervasive Computing and chair of the steering committee for ACM HotMobile.
2009–2014

The e-campus network and Pervasive Displays

In 2009, he gives the seminar talk "Building a Global Display Network", centered on e-campus, a deployment of over 100 public displays at Lancaster built as a research testbed. In 2014, he coauthors the book Pervasive Displays: Understanding the Future of Digital Signage with Sarah Clinch and Florian Alt.
2016–2019

Co-directing the Data Science Institute

By 2016, he is co-director of Lancaster's new multidisciplinary Data Science Institute, after visiting positions that include Google Research in Mountain View. In November 2019, as Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, he is appointed Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development) for eight months, while his recent work uses new technology to support human memory augmentation.
As of October 2026

Head of Computing and Communications

He is Head of Department and Distinguished Professor in Lancaster's School of Computing and Communications. In April 2025, he leads the school as Lancaster opens new computing and cyber security teaching facilities backed by a £4m Office for Students grant. His research focuses on user privacy in future pervasive environments, including privacy aware personalisation and analytics for smart environments.