For over 15 years the CCNR has been a home to blue-skies computational biology and bio-inspired engineering. Research projects were driven only by what interesting people found interesting.
The CCNR was founded in 1996 by Prof Michael O’Shea and Prof Phil Husbands as an interdisciplinary research group between BIOLS and COGS. The aim of the centre was to encourage a two-way flow of ideas and methods between the life and computational sciences. This has been reflected in the nature of the research that has been carried out, with well over 50 completed DPhil students and a historical portfolio which has been much broader than the CCNR label might suggest. For instance:
| Complex adaptive systems | Adaptive behaviour | ALife and the origins of autonomy |
| Sci-Art and creative systems | Evolutionary electronics | Insect and robot navigation |
| Natural and artificial neural networks | Modelling neuronal systems | Evolutionary computing |
| Theory of natural and artificial evolution | Machine learning | Ecosystem modelling |