Kirsten is the Principal Materials Research Engineer for the ORE Catapult. Her role is to lead the Materials team in development of innovative products, services and solutions in the area of materials for wind and tidal turbines. During her 8 years at ORE Catapult she has focused on blade leading edge erosion, leading the industry understanding of the topic and developing new and improved test methodologies for product assessment.
Prior to joining ORE Catapult in January 2015, Kirsten worked for Siemens Gamesa for 4 years in their Materials Department on materials qualifications and research projects. She started her career in Aerospace working for BAE Systems for 8 years, where she was responsible for all materials and processes on an existing aircraft fleet. She also led, amongst a wide range of projects, an SAE international committee on icing fluids, wrote industry guidance papers on operations of autonomous UAS including airships, and performed LCA on aircraft.
Kirsten holds a PhD in Materials Engineering from University of Wales Swansea (on the subject of ‘Fatigue in Composite Materials’) and a BEng in Materials Engineering from the same university.