Dr Katrina Thompson is the Director of the UK Digital Twin Centre,
delivered by Digital Catapult, where she leads the mission to
make digital twins more accessible and impactful by
accelerating the practical application of deep tech, fostering
industry collaboration, and driving innovation through shared
learning and knowledge exchange.
A chartered engineer and graduate in Aeronautical
Engineering, she has over 30 years of industrial experience
across aerospace, telecommunications, and maritime sectors. Her primary technical
expertise is in numerical methods and modelling, specialising in finite element analysis
and the development of conceptual aircraft design tools. She has a PhD in Computational
Fluid Dynamics, and an MSc in Finite Element Analysis. Katrina is an Honorary Professor
of Practice in the QUB School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Queen’s
University Belfast and a member of the Matrix Panel, the Northern Ireland Science Industry Panel.