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Publications and Research

ORCID (0000-0002-0503-298X); ResearchGate; LinkedIn; Quora

This page contains lists for the following topics:


Letters to the Editor of New Scientist

As a technical writer, I need to show that I have been keeping abreast of developments across the full spectrum of science and engineering. My letters to the editor of the New Scientist magazine provide evidence that I do at least thoroughly read each week's issue (since October 1972). My claim is also supported by my continuous study page.

Is complexity a clue to our place in the universe?, 18-Apr-2020, issue 3278, p25 Commenting on an article about free-will being the opposite of determistic behaviour.
When order arises and when it fights back, 27-Apr-2019, issue 3227, p53 Commenting on an article about how order arises spontaneously in out-of-equilibrium systems.
The periodic table is an index to knowledge, 13-Apr-2019, issue 3225, p54 Commenting on an article about attempts to improve on the layout of the periodic table.
Be careful what you wish for with working hours, 24-Jun-2017, issue 3131, p54 Commenting on an article about the technical/political arguments for a reduction in the standard working week.
What can we learn from inscrutable translators?, 04-Feb-2017, issue 3111, p53 Commenting on an article about the way that machine translation is achieved on the internet, and subsequently referred to (NS, 18-Feb-2017, p52), with an unrelated but pertinant letter on the brain's grasp of physics (NS, 11-Feb-2017, p54).
Whose job is it to burst the filter bubble?, 21-Jan-2017, issue 3109, p52 Commenting on an article about the way that search engines and social media give biased views to their users.
Why gods keep on coming back at us, 08-Oct-2016, issue 3094, p52 Commenting on an article about metaphysics questions.
What colour are those white holes?, 20-Feb-2016, issue 3061, p53 Commenting on an article about white holes that emit at a characteristic radio frequency.
How low can we go?, 31-Oct-2015, issue 3045, p53 Commenting on an article about there being a health-inducing sound frequency for human beings.
Faecal matters, 14-Mar-2015, issue 3012, p53 Tieing together articles about microbes in the home, and faecal transplants.
Monster monopole, 13-Sep-2014, issue 2986, p32 Commenting on an article about the prospect of detecting magnetic monopoles at CERN.
Water damage, 22-Mar-2014, issue 2961, p30 Commenting on an article about the long-term impact of river-flooding on people's health.
Gaia's no saviour, 23-Nov-2013, issue 2944, p33 Commenting on an article about evidence that the Gaia theory did not apply in the past.
Quantum flip, 02-Feb-2013, issue 2902, p28 Commenting on an article about wave-particle duality.
Market mischief, 15-Sep-2012, issue 2882, p28 Commenting on an article about a tool to forecast economic meltdowns.
In the dark?, 16-Jun-2012, issue 2869, p33 Commenting on an article about the apparent lack of dark matter in the near neighbourhood.
Lucky me, 07-Jan-2012, issue 2846, p29 Commenting on an article about the multiverse interpretations of quantum mechanics.
Perfect relative pitch, 16-Apr-2011, issue 2808, p31 Commenting on an article about musically gifted people with perfect pitch.
Leaping sounds, 30-Oct-2010, issue 2784, p30 Commenting on an article about electrostatic waves traversing a vacuum.
Detect a monopole, 13-Jun-2009, issue 2712, p24 Commenting on an article about the creation of a magnetic monopole quasi-particle.
Planet X-1, 14-Mar-2009, issue 2699, p25 Commenting on an article about the search for further planets in the solar system.
Set-aside for fuel, 21-Oct-2006, issue 2574, web letter. Commenting on an article about the amount of land required to produce biofuel.
Before gravity won, 12-Nov-2005, issue 2525, p27 Commenting on an article about why the universe started in a low-entropy state.
Just for us, 13-Dec-2003, issue 2425, p35 Tieing together an article on solar eclipses, and one by Susskind on the weak anthropomorphic principle.
Made in space, 26-Apr-2003, issue 2392, p29 Commenting on an article about the need for radiation sheilding for astronauts.
Everything unveiled, 30-Mar-2002, issue 2336, p54 Tieing together articles about interconnect for silicon chips, a structure to encourage cold fusion to take place, a model for how subatomic particles vibrate, and the wisdom of Douglas Adams.
No function, 23-Feb-2002, issue 2331, p52 Commenting on an article about the genetic advantage of in-breeding.
Clever cogs, 03-Feb-2001, issue 2276, p52 Commenting on an article about genetic programming applied to artificial intellegence.
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Papers

M.J.Shute (1993).   "Abotec : an automatic back-of-the-envelope calculator", ACM SIGPLAN Notices 28:8, pp90-98.
M.J.Shute (1992).   "Cobweb-3(m) : a declarative instruction set multiprocessor computer", UMCS-92-6-1, Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester, 27pp.
M.J.Shute (1990).   "Categorising parallel computer architecture", in T.J. Fountain and M.J. Shute, eds., Multiprocessor computer architectures, North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp1-36.
M.J.Shute (1988).   "Functional programming aspects of wafer scale integration", Microelectronics Journal 19:3, pp31-40.
P.Anderson, C.L.Hankin, P.H.J.Kelly, P.E.Osmon and M.J.Shute (1987).   "Cobweb-2 : structured specification of a wafer scale supercomputer", in J.W. pe Bakker, A.J. Nijman and P.C. Treleaven, eds., PARLE Parallel Architectures and Languages Europe, LNCS 258, pp51-67, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
M.J.Shute (1987).   "Massive challenge to literature", The Writers' Newsletter 4:23, Writers' Guild of Great Britain, p10.
M.J.Shute and P.E.Osmon (1986).   "Cobweb : a reduction architecture", in C.R. Jesshope and W.R. Moore, eds., Wafer Scale Integration, Adam Hilger, Bristol, pp169-178.
M.J.Shute (1986).   "Cobweb : a reduction architecture for WSI", Silicon Design 3:1, pp12-13.
C.L.Hankin, P.E.Osmon and M.J.Shute (1985).   "Cobweb: a combinator reduction architecture", in J.P. Jouannaud, ed., Functional Programming Languages and Computer Architecture, LNCS 201, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp99-112.
M.J.Shute (1984).   "An implementation of a 16-bit processor using only 600 transistors", Microelectronics Journal 15:5, pp37-47.
M.J.Shute (1984).   "A design for a 16-bit processor using only 600 transistors", Microelectronics Journal 15:3, pp5-11.
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Books

U.Rollin and A.Venturi (2006).   Montpellier – a town with a beating heart, Editions de l'Aube, La Tour d'Aigues, F, ISBN 978-2-7526-0296-1. Translation by M.J.Shute.
M.J.Shute (1991).   Les Architectures de 5e Génération sur Tranche, Masson, Paris, et Prentice Hall International, London, ISBN 2-225-82193-3, 332pp. Translation of (Shute 1988) by E.Pissaloux, S. Lasserre and J. Maftoul.
T.J.Fountain, and M.J.Shute, eds. (1990).   Multiprocessor computer architectures, North-Holland, Amsterdam, ISBN 0-444-88215-4, 253pp. This book is a collection of papers that resulted frol a series of seminars held at Middlesex Polytechnic (now Middlesex University). Each of the main multiprocessor, parallel computing hardware projects in the UK, at the time of the Alvey programme, are presented by leading members of their respective research teams.
M.J.Shute (1988).   Fifth Generation Wafer Architecture, Prentice Hall International, Hemel Hempstead, ISBN 0-13-314238-8, 316pp. This book was written to support the lectures given by the author, covering a range of subjects from Wafer Scale Integration (WSI) to Multiprocessor Parallel-Computer Architecture, to Declarative Language Programming. The three areas have surprisingly similar aims and constraints, and dovetail nicely together. Thus, this book (especially when read in conjunction with Shute 1992) was a step towards designing a multiprocessor computer, fabricated on a single slice of silicon, that would execute a declarative language object code.
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Principle (publically available) Technical Documentation

DirectIndustry (2007).   Dictionary of Nouns in Industrial Engineering, published as a web page
STMicroelectronics (1997-2004).   M24xxx (serial I2C EEPROM), M95xxx (serial SPI EEPROM), M25xxx (serial flash memory), M45xxx (serial byte writeable flash memory), and also for RFID, smart-card, parallel access flash memory, EPROM, NVRAM (non-volatile RAM), PSD, SRAM. Datasheets, application notes, user manuals published as PDF files on the internet.
Hewlett Packard (1995-1997).   "HP Vectra XW", "HP Vectra XU 6/xxx and HP Vectra VT 6/xxx", "HP Vectra XA 6/xxx and HP Vectra VA 6/xxx", "HP Vectra VL 6/xxx series 6", "HP Vectra VL 5/xxx series 5", "HP Vectra XM 5/xxx series 4", "HP Vectra VE 5/xxx series 3", "HP Vectra XA 5/xxx", "HP Net Vectra", "HP Ergo 1024 (D2830A)". Technical reference manuals, familiarization guides and service reference chapters published on paper or as PDF files on CD-ROM.
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Conferences and Workshops

M.J.Shute (1994).   "Watt is the unit of computing power?", I.E.E. Sussex Centre's Young Member's evening.
P.Anderson, C.L.Hankin, P.H.J.Kelly, P.E.Osmon and M.J.Shute (1987).   "Cobweb-2: structured specification of a wafer scale supercomputer", Parallel Architectures and Languages Europe (PARLE'87).
P.H.J.Kelly and M.J.Shute (1986).   "Cartesian routing and fault tolerance in a wafer scale multi-computer", Workshop on Wafer Scale Integration, LCS-IMAG, Grenoble, France.
P.H.J.Kelly and M.J.Shute (1986).   "Cobweb-2: reconfiguration and routing algorithms for a computer architecture implemented in WSI", Colloquium on Fault Tolerant ICs / Wafer Scale Integration, Institution of Electrical Engineers, Groups E10 and E3, London, UK.
C.L.Hankin, P.E.Osmon and M.J.Shute (1985).   "Cobweb: a combinator reduction architecture", Functional Programming Languages and Computer Architecture, Nancy, France.
M.J.Shute and P.E.Osmon (1985).   "Cobweb: a reduction architecture", First International Workshop on Wafer Scale Integration, University of Southampton, UK.
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Research Contracts

1986-1988

  A Feasibility Study of a Family of Highly Concurrent Machines, reference Alv/IKBS/064/150, financed by the "Department of Trade and Industry" and the "Science and Engineering Research Council".

1985-1988

  A Fault Tolerant Design Methodology for WSI, reference Alv/Proj/Arch/073, financed by the "Department of Trade and Industry" and the "Science and Engineering Research Council ".
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Doctoral Thesis

1983   The rôle of simulation in the study of multiprocessor, control flow and data flow systems, Ph.D. thesis, University of London.

Abstract: As processors become more complex, they must be designed in a more rigorous and automated fashion. This thesis attempts to evaluate the rôle that computer simulation can hope to play in this field. The main area covered is that of simulation at and around the register-transfer level. The facilities offered by several special purpose simulation packages at the register-transfer, gate and circuit levers are reviewed. A less detailed summary is also given of the facilities offered by simulation packages at the systems level, and the use of general purpose programming languages in simulation. The design of a conventional processor, and the part played by some of these simulation packages in that design, is described.

Two multi-processor designs have been undertaken, and the role played by simulation in the design process has been monitored. The designs are respectively a local area communications ring, and a data flow machine. The former is intended to be implemented at very low cost using a single chip micro-computer. The data flow machine was designed with a view to its eventual construction using V.L.S.I. and W.S.I. techniques. The major ideals of data flow are implemented on the machine; in particular, the ability to manipulate higer order functions is a central concept. The machine operates on 'tokens' whose fields can contain data, operators and combinators. The problems encountered in simulating these machines are discussed.

In conclusion, the rôle of simulation, both present and future, is discussed along with suggestions for extracting more utility from the simulation process. These include mention of a dedicated simulation machine, that could also be of value to other, more general, areas of computing.

(More details) (post script)

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First publication

M.J.Shute (Aug. 1975).   "Reader's bright ideas", Everyday Electronics, volume 4 number 8, IPC Magazines, Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London, UK, page 437. return to top of the page
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