Dr Katy Wiltshire

Areas of expertise

• Computing, Simulation & Modelling
• Soil
• Sustainable Land Systems

Background

Katy holds a BSc in Physic with Astrophysics and an MSc in Applied Geophysics from The University of Birmingham. Her PhD was carried out at Cranfield and assessed the source and delivery processes of organic carbon transfer across the terrestrial-to-aquatic continuum using a combined sediment fingerprinting and carbon loss modelling approach. Between the completion of her MSc and beginning her PhD at Cranfield, Katy spent many years in industry as a software engineer and data analyst.

Current activities

Katy is a researcher and modeller interested in optimising catchment land use for ecosystem services, biodiversity, water quality, and soil and carbon management. Her cross-disciplinary research includes soil science, biogeochemistry, sediment fingerprinting, carbon loss modelling and agroforestry biophysical modelling. Katy's previous work contributed to the delivery of Cranfield’s work in water and waterway engineering and materials science in the EPSRC-funded project ‘Improved prediction of cohesive sediment erosion based on inter-particle forces’. This research aimed to provide a means to predict the effects of sediment properties and water chemistry on erosion thresholds. Currently, Katy is an Agroforestry Modeller as part of the BEIS funded BIOFORCE (BIOmass FORestry CrEation) project, aimed at creating geospatial data systems to upscale national forestry-based biomass production.