Melissa Terras

Professor Melissa Terras MBE FREng is Professor of Digital Cultural Heritage within Design Informatics at Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh. With over 25 years of experience producing award-winning digital projects in the Gallery, Library, Archive, and Museum (GLAM) sector, she directs impactful initiatives including Creative Informatics (an AHRC-funded creative cluster) and co-founded Transkribus, an AI platform for handwritten text recognition.

Her research centers on digital cultural heritage infrastructure, where she examines AI ethics, copyright challenges in digitization (particularly orphan works), and the critical role of art schools in driving technological innovation. She investigates how handwritten text recognition transforms access to historical materials while addressing digital justice and bias in heritage data systems.

Recent publications (2024-2025) reveal a cohesive focus on sustainable digital infrastructure through cooperative models like READ-COOP, ethical AI deployment in cultural contexts, and data-driven innovation in creative industries. Her work bridges technical development with critical policy analysis, emphasizing community governance and responsible technology design.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire)
• FREng (Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering)

Terras secured major funding as Director of Creative Informatics, fostering collaborations between Edinburgh's creative sector and academia. Her Transkribus platform, developed through European partnerships, exemplifies her commitment to sustainable digital infrastructure. She actively shapes national policy through contributions to UK government consultations on AI and copyright.

As founding director of Transkribus and READ-COOP cooperative, she leads community-governed infrastructure development. Her work with Creative Informatics established frameworks for data-driven innovation in Scotland's creative industries, emphasizing equitable participation and ethical data practices.