Timothy Burd

Dr Timothy Burd is a safety engineer, whose work focuses on designing and assessing complex safety systems within particle accelerators, nuclear power plants, security systems, high-rise buildings and autonomous transportation. He is especially interested in how critical software can be demonstrated to be free of bugs, and has worked with regulators and the UK government to understand how (if at all) devices with AI components can be assured for safety and security. Timothy has a background in science and software, completing a PhD in computational chemistry at the University of Oxford in 2020, and a Masters degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge in 2016.

Timothy has a passion for science communication, and was a co-creator and co-host of the popular podcast ‘Theoretically Speaking’ in which he explored what theoretical chemistry is, in a light-hearted, easy-to-digest way. He spent several years working as a walking tour guide in Oxford. He is working on his first book for Profile Books.