Lesley Walls

I am a Management Scientist whose primary research interest is the creation and evaluation of models to support risk-informed decisions taken under uncertainty. In particular, for decisions related to the introduction of innovative technologies in socio-technical contexts. I am a Chartered Statistician and a Fellow of the UK Safety and Reliability Society. My research is published in journals such as the European Journal of Operational Research, Risk Analysis, Statistical Science, IEEE Engineering Management, Reliability Engineering and System Safety. These papers include novel general methodologies created in response to challenging operational decision problems arising in different domains (e.g. Maritime, Energy, Aerospace, Defence). The methodologies developed encompass stochastic models, statistical methods and elicitation processes for both model structuring and probability assessment of model parameters. The projects underpinning my research – both basic and applied – have been funded by UK research agencies (EPSRC), the European Commission H2020 programme, the Royal Society, Innovate UK and industrial sponsors (e.g. Bruce Power, Scottish Water).
I received a 1906 Award from the International Electrotechnical Commission in recognition of exceptional achievement and contribution to standardisation, such as my role as leader of an international project team for the latest edition of IEC60812: FMEA. I have successfully engaged in multiple industry projects and consultancies. I have developed educational learning material for post-experience, post-graduate and undergraduate programmes on topics including stochastic processes, risk analysis, statistical modelling and decision analysis.