Tommy Collins

I am a Doctoral graduand in Computer Science within the Faculty of Environment, Science & Economy at the University of Exeter.

My research focuses on modelling urban environments using novel born-digital data sources—such as mobile phone and internet data—to visualise human behaviour in cities. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach that draws on computer science and network theory, I analyse large-scale datasets to understand better urban vibrancy—the energetic activity that characterises urban life. This work aims to reveal how city size and urban form shape social, environmental, health, and economic inequalities. UK Research and Innovation fund my research through a postgraduate scholarship programme.

Alongside my work in urban science, I collaborate with researchers in the Department of Ecology and Conservation to study collective movement in animal societies. This research examines how individual movement decisions aggregate into group-level patterns, how animals coordinate their movements when moving together, and how ecological context influences these dynamics. By reviewing how movement influences space use, cooperation, and conflict, this work also offers broader insights into how collective decision-making and social organisation in animals parallels challenges observed in human societies. The project contributes to understanding the role of collective behaviour in the evolution of social systems.