Douglas G Thomson

Douglas G Thomson is a Senior Lecturer in Autonomous Systems & Connectivity at the University of Glasgow's School of Engineering, specifically within the Aerospace Sciences department. He has held various leadership positions including Head of the Department of Aerospace Engineering (2000-2007) and Head of the Aerospace Sciences Research Division since 2010. Currently, he also serves as the Chief Adviser of Studies for Engineering within the School.

Dr Thomson's research primarily focuses on rotorcraft flight dynamics, with notable contributions in inverse simulation techniques applied to rotorcraft. His work spans several specialized areas including evasion strategies for helicopter avoidance of RPG threats, guidance and control of underwater vehicles, and autogyro flight dynamics. Recent research has expanded into planetary exploration rovers, autonomous search and rescue systems, and reinforcement learning applications for drone navigation.

His publication record shows a clear evolution from traditional helicopter and rotorcraft dynamics toward autonomous systems and planetary exploration. The most recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate a strong focus on robotics, AI applications in search and rescue, and planetary exploration technologies, while maintaining his foundational expertise in flight dynamics and inverse simulation.

Scientific Awards:

• Royal Society University Research Fellowship

Dr Thomson has supervised numerous PhD and Master's students, with recent collaborations indicating active mentoring in robotics, aerospace engineering, and autonomous systems. His research has been supported by various grants focused on aerospace innovation, autonomous systems, and space exploration technologies. He leads a research team working on fixed-base flight simulators for rotorcraft piloted simulation studies and has developed important understanding of autogyro flight characteristics through simulation and flight testing.