Tom Spink

Dr. Tom Spink is a Lecturer at the School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews. His research focuses on efficient cross-architecture hardware virtualization, leveraging Dynamic Binary Translation (DBT) and hardware acceleration to enhance virtualized system performance. He teaches Operating Systems (CS3104) and Computer Architecture (CS4202), and serves as the First-level CS Coordinator. Dr. Spink holds a PhD in computer systems architecture from the University of Edinburgh and is a Fellow of the British Computer Society (BCS).

His research interests span operating systems, virtualization, compilers, and runtime systems. Notable contributions include work on DBT hypervisors, weak memory model architectures (Risotto/Lasagne), and embedded systems security. He has been awarded the Best Paper Award in 2019 for his work on retargetable DBT hypervisors.

Dr. Spink advises PhD student Ferdia McKeogh and collaborates on tools like Risotto and Lasagne. His work addresses challenges in cross-platform execution, IoT virtualization, and compiler optimizations for embedded systems. He actively engages in academic activities, including organizing conferences and delivering invited talks on hardware acceleration and virtualization techniques.