The driving force of my career lies in diversity: of ideas, of people, and in the combination of many areas of research and technologies. I am a passionate scientist and an inspiring educator who believes more in cooperation than competition.The core of my research is computer science, complex dynamical systems and industrial automation. However, I have always challenged the existing orthodoxy in these areas and have combined five classically-separated disciplines: formal methods of computer science, artificial intelligence (AI), control engineering, mathematical systems analysis and network science -with strong links to industry. My contributions to the oil and energy sector are highly regarded, and I have led projects on exploration and production, drilling, optimisation of distribution/transportation networks, smart grids, fault diagnosis, cyber-physical systems and formal verification of hybrid systems.I am a leading researcher in hybrid dynamical systems, cyber-physical systems, network science, mathematical modelling, simulation, automated verification/reasoning, formal methods, symbolic AI, automation, control systems design, robotics, systems engineering, safety, stability/robustness analysis, evolution of complex systems, self-organisation, morphogenesis. My expertise also extends to: advanced algorithms, computational neuroscience, bioinformatics, neuro-inspired computing, data science, collective intelligence, social computing, and machine learning. With a passion for research and wide span of interests, my area of expertise defies easy compartmentalisation, and the multidisciplinary approach I have developed sets me apart from my computer science and control engineering peer group. My natural inclination is to open new pathways rather than re-tread old ones. I have an acknowledged ability to build new areas of research from scratch, identify key problems and raise questions that have not been voiced before. I approach the answers in an original way by transferring ideas from one field to another. Few computer scientists can credibly claim to have controlled walking robots, eliminated mechanical vibration in oil fields, introduced formal methods of computer science into dynamical systems theory, and modelled important aspects of the human brain to create a new theory of neuroplasticity with the potential to radically change the study of the brain and neuromorphic computing.I am also an artist, a philosopher, a lover of poetry and music, and always open to new collaborations and challenges.