JOSEPH PREECE
Researcher
Dr Joe Preece is an interdisciplinary computer scientist and Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering. His work focuses on applying semantic technologies in the transportation sector, particularly exploring how these methods can accelerate the decarbonisation of transport.
Joe is part of the EPSRC TransiT project, where he investigates how ontologies can act as digital twins to integrate heterogeneous data and support decision‑making for net‑zero pathways. He also studies how large language models (LLMs) can lower the barrier for non‑technical users to create, query and adapt ontologies. This includes enabling domain experts to work directly with formal knowledge without needing specialist training in ontology engineering.
His earlier research spans data science for infrastructure resilience and emerging technologies for mobility. He helped develop a predictive model to assess future wildfire impacts on UK critical infrastructure, supporting operators’ risk‑management and adaptation strategies. Before that, his PhD examined the application of blockchain in the transport sector, particularly for ticketing, and provided practical guidance on when the technology should not be used.
University of Glasgow
