Patrick Waterson

Professor Patrick Waterson is a Professor of Human Factors and Complex Systems at Loughborough University's School of Design and Creative Arts. He holds a BSc (First Class) in Psychology from Lancaster University, an MSc in Knowledge-Based Systems from Sussex University, and a PhD in Human Factors from the University of Nottingham. His career includes roles as a Research Fellow at the MRC Sheffield University (1992-2002) and Head of Department at Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering in Germany (2002-2006). He joined Loughborough in 2007.

His research focuses on systems safety, accident analysis, and human factors in healthcare, transportation, and complex systems. He has pioneered work on systemic accident analysis methods like AcciMap and STAMP-CAST, and their application to healthcare, railways, and construction. Notable contributions include the development of Net-HARMS (Networked Hazard Analysis and Risk Management System) and studies on maternal care disparities, AI ethics, and railway safety management systems.

He is an Editor-in-Chief for the journal Ergonomics and has received major awards including the William Floyd Medal (2014) and IEA/Elsevier John Wilson Award (2021). His work emphasizes systemic approaches to safety, resilience engineering, and integrating human factors into complex systems design.