Professor William (Andy) Wright

EPSRC Council member

Professor William (Andy) Wright PhD, BSc, FIET is a member of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Council.

Andy is an independent technology consultant, Professor in Practice for the University of Glasgow College of Science and Engineering, and Professorial Fellow Enterprise at the University of Southampton, supporting the universities’ strategic development and links with industry.

In 2022 he retired as the Strategic Technology Director for BAE Systems CTO organisation. In this role he was responsible for the strategic development of BAE Systems Technology Programme in the UK as well as supporting technology development across the global business. He was involved in setting up several unique multinational programmes across the UK, the US, and Australia, which would develop new products in areas such as autonomy, and data fusion and analytics.

As Director of the BAE Systems Open Innovation initiative (I3), a corporate venturing fund invested directly in small and medium-sized enterprises, he gained first-hand experience working with them to mature and exploit novel products in biometrics and security systems.

Andy has been involved in the development of new and novel technology for over 30 years, with research experience in artificial intelligence, autonomy and machine learning, having taken visiting posts in academia, including at the universities of Bristol and Caltech in the US.

He is a chartered engineer. He was appointed Visiting Professor at the University of Southampton in 2005 in computer science. He is a member of the Royal Society College of Industrial Fellows and fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Last updated: 25 August 2023

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