Rate My Professor John McDermid

Professor John McDermid is Professor of Software Engineering in the Department of Computer Science at the University of York, a position he has held since 1987. Prior to joining York, he worked as a Ministry of Defence research scientist and spent five years in the software industry. He has served as Head of the Department of Computer Science from 2006 to 2012 and from 2016 to 2017. He directed the Assuring Autonomy International Programme from 2018 to 2023 and is currently Director of the Centre for Assuring Autonomy and Lloyd's Register Foundation Chair in Safety. McDermid was a Non-Executive Director of the Health and Safety Executive from 2019 to 2024. He leads the High Integrity Systems research group and has advised governments, regulators, and industries worldwide, including the UK Department for Transport, Law Commission, National Physical Laboratory, Rolls-Royce, Ministry of Defence, Siemens, Fraunhofer, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NASA, FiveAI, and SAIF Systems. He chaired the BSI Connected Autonomous Vehicles Standards Advisory Board and contributed to shaping national and international policies on autonomous vehicles and vessels.

McDermid's research specializations include safety-critical systems, safety engineering, safety of autonomy and robotics, impact of cybersecurity on safety, and software engineering for high integrity systems. He has addressed the safety of complex computer- and software-controlled systems for nearly forty years, pioneering work on AI-controlled systems since the early 2000s, such as neural networks for engine control and adaptive flight control. He has supervised around 40 PhD students, published nearly 500 papers and books, and authored or edited six books. Key recent publications include 'Design Principles for Human-Centred Explainable AI: A Scoping Review' (2026), 'AI Safety and Security' (2025), and 'Evidencing responsibility for use of AI in safety critical systems' (2025). His honors include the OBE (2010), Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2002), Fellow of the British Computer Society, Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He received the Most Influential 15-year Paper Award at ASE 2013.