Events
DAFNI Conference 2021 – Bridging the physical divide with digital
Official Launch Virtual Event: Bridging the physical divide with digital
Updated on December 9 2025
Following 4 years of intense development effort, we unveiled to the wider community the exciting advancements within the facility and how it will relate to and revolutionise infrastructure business and research nationwide.
We would like to share the outputs from this conference with the DAFNI community. Full details are on this page.
09:00 Welcome and introduction DAFNI the Facility – bridging the physical and digital divide
SPEAKERS
Professor Jim Hall
Chair of DAFNI Governance Board, University of Oxford
09:15 Keynote presentation UKRI transforming technologies: the context in which DAFNI sits
SPEAKERS
Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser
UKRI Chief Executive
09:45 Keynote presentation Meeting the UK’s Infrastructure investment agenda
SPEAKERS
Professor Gordon Masterton
University of Edinburgh, Deputy Convenor of UKCRIC
10:10 The DAFNI facility: opening introduction to DAFNI
SPEAKERS
Dr Brian Matthews
DAFNI Project Lead, STFC
10:25 DAFNI facility demonstrations Data discovery
SPEAKERS
Alex Kemp
DAFNI, STFC DAFNI Data discovery
Rose Dickinson
DAFNI, STFC DAFNI Modelling service
Tom Gowland
DAFNI, STFC DAFNI Visualisation Capabilities
DAFNI facility demonstrations Modelling at your fingertips
SPEAKERS
Rose Dickinson
DAFNI, STFC
DAFNI facility demonstrations Visualisation capabilities
11:00 Morning session Q&A panel
SPEAKERS
Professor Jim Hall
Chair of DAFNI Governance Board, University of Oxford
Professor Gordon Masterton
UKCRIC
Dr Brian Matthews
DAFNI, STFC
Rose Dickinson
DAFNI, STFC
Tom Gowland
DAFNI, STFC
11:40 Introduction to the afternoon session
SPEAKERS
Professor Jim Hall,
Chair of DAFNI Governance Board
11:50 Lunch break
13:00 Welcome back and introduction to the afternoon session
SPEAKERS
Dr. Brian Matthews
DAFNI Project Lead, STFC
13:05 Keynote presentation Climate change modelling and DAFNI’s role in the OpenCLIM project
SPEAKERS
Kathryn Brown
Head of adaptation at the Committee on Climate Change (CCC)
13:25 OpenCLIM project – modelling services at your fingertips
SPEAKERS
Professor Robert Nicholls
University of East Anglia
13:40 OpenCLIM Q&A session
13:50 UKRI and Digital Twins
SPEAKERS
Mark Gaskarth
Head of Digital Twins, EPSRC
14:05 Data Ontology for Digital Twins – supporting research and operations
SPEAKERS
Professor Liz Varga
UCL
14:20 Comfort break
14:30 Digital Twin and Urban Observatories – how DAFNI is supporting the national Digital Twin Agenda
SPEAKERS
Professor Daniel Coca
University of Sheffield
14:45 UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment and DAFNI’s Role
SPEAKERS
Professor David Wallom
University of Oxford
15:00 Afternoon Session Q&A Panel
SPEAKERS
Professor Liz Varga
UCL
Professor Nik Lomax
University of Leeds
Professor Nigel Cassidy
University of Birmingham
Professor Theo Tryfonas
University of Bristol
Professor Stephen Hallett
Cranfield University
Professor Julien Harou
University of Manchester
Professor Simon Blainey
University of Southampton
Professor Daniel Coca
University of Sheffield
Dr Brian Matthews
DAFNI, STFC
Tom Gowland
DAFNI STFC
15:40 Closing Remarks
SPEAKERS
Professor Jim Hall
Chair of DAFNI Governance Board
15:50 Close of the event
For all upcoming events eget fusce at at ultrices in consectetur feugiat facilisis nunc risus venenatis blandit nam nibh nibh vestibulum diam.