Senior Research Engineer, Materials, ORE Catapult

Biography

Kirsten is a Senior Research Materials Engineer working on Research & Development projects in materials for rotor blades. She is also technically responsible for the Blade Erosion Test Rig asset at ORE Catapult. Kirsten’s main areas of focus are research on Blade Leading Edge Erosion and composite materials. Kirsten has a PhD in the fatigue of composite materials. She previously worked on researching and qualifying new wind blade materials with Siemens Gamesa, on the qualification and production of aircraft materials with BAE Systems, and has also formulated new composite materials for various applications. Additionally, she worked on UAV civil airspace certification rules as part of the ASTRAEA project and led an International Standards sub-committee on aircraft icing. She has published three international research papers.