James A.R. Marshall

Professor James A.R. Marshall is a Professor of Theoretical and Computational Biology at the University of Sheffield's School of Computer Science, where he also serves as Director of the Centre for Machine Intelligence. He leads the Behavioural and Evolutionary Theory Lab (BET Lab), an interdisciplinary research group focused on understanding behavior through mathematical and computational approaches. His academic journey includes previous positions at the University of Bristol before joining Sheffield in 2010.

Marshall's research spans collective social insect behavior, evolutionary theory, decision theory, robotics, and theoretical neuroscience. He applies mathematical and computational approaches to understand how and why behaviors evolve, with particular interest in social insect colonies, swarm intelligence, and biomimetic applications for robotics. His work often bridges biology and computer science, developing algorithms inspired by natural systems. He has made significant contributions to understanding confidence-weighted decision-making, quorum sensing in swarms, and magnitude-sensitive reaction times in multi-alternative choices.

His recent publications reveal a strong trend toward applying insights from biological systems to robotics and AI, particularly through projects like Brains on Board and Opteran Technologies. His work increasingly focuses on neuromorphic control systems that mimic insect brains for autonomous navigation, demonstrating how constraints in biological systems can lead to robust engineering solutions. The interdisciplinary nature of his research is evident in publications spanning computational neuroscience, robotics, animal behavior, and theoretical biology.

• EPSRC Peer Review College Member (2010-present)
• Member of the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship Panel College (2019-present)
• Editorial Board, Swarm Intelligence (2017-present)
• Associate Editor, PLoS Computational Biology (2020-present)

Marshall has successfully mentored numerous researchers including HaDi MaBouDi, Andreagiovanni Reina, and Alexander Cope, while securing substantial research funding including EPSRC grants totaling over £4 million. His lab has produced the spinout company Opteran Technologies, which has secured over £12 million in funding to develop natural intelligence technology for autonomous systems. The BET Lab maintains strong connections with Sheffield Robotics and focuses on testing theoretical models in physical robotic systems while developing computational models of biological processes.