LOUISE WRIGHT

Head of Science for Data Science, National Physical Laboratory (NPL)

Louise Wright is the Head of Science for Data Science at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). The Data Science department consists of around 50 researchers and students working on a variety of topics in data science with a strong focus on measurement data. Areas of interest include uncertainty evaluation, data quality, advanced analytics, data models, and ontologies. Louise is reponsible for the strategic direction and quality of the research.

Louise’s main area of expertise is numerical approximation techniques for solution of partial differential equations. She applies these methods across multiple areas of physics and a range of end applications, from magnetic detection of corrosion to characterisation of thermal bond quality. She is currently interested in how digital twins can leverage existing knowledge about modelling and data to improve understanding of products and processes.

Louise received an MA in Mathematics from Cambridge University in 1994, and an MSc in Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Analysis from Oxford University in 1995. She spent four years working with finite element analysis in industry before joining NPL in 1999. Louise is the chair of the NAFEMS Working Group on Computational Structural Mechanics, and is a founding member of the NAFEMS Professional Simulation Engineer certification scheme.