Catherine Mulligan

Catherine Mulligan is an Advanced Research Fellow at Imperial College London's Institute for Security Science and Technology, affiliated with the Faculty of Engineering's Department of Computing. She co-founded the Imperial College Centre for Cryptocurrency Research and Engineering, the first academic center globally focused on blockchain and cryptocurrency. Her research bridges Computer Science, Economics, and Digital Transformation, emphasizing societal resilience, sustainability, and ethical AI. She advises governments, corporations, and NGOs on digital strategies and has secured over £6.1M in research grants.

Education includes a PhD and MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge, a BSc in Business Information Technology from UNSW Sydney, and certifications in online teaching from Falmouth University. She previously served as Chief Technology Officer for a consultancy managing 14,000+ staff across Europe and taught 'Digital Transformation: Leading Real-World Change' at Imperial College Business School.

Research interests include blockchain's environmental and social impact, AI ethics, smart city frameworks, and global digital governance. She contributed to the UN Secretary General’s 2019 High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation and was a World Economic Forum Fellow. Her work on data supply chains (DSC) and 5G networks has shaped industry standards. Notable publications include Blockchain beyond the hype and Information Marketplaces: The New Economics of Cities.

Award-winning author of eight books on mobile technology, she led the Open and Agile Smart Cities Task Force until 2017 and was Vice Chairman of ETSI’s Context Information Management group. Her current projects explore NFTs, DAOs, and human-centered AI frameworks like PROMPTHEUS to streamline research methods.