Dr Katy Tant

  • Senior Lecturer (Systems Power & Energy)
  • Honorary Lecturer (School of Engineering)

Biography

Dr Katy Tant is a Senior Lecturer in AI for Engineering in the James Watt School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow. She obtained her BSc Hons in Mathematics from Heriot-Watt University in 2011 and a PhD in Mathematical Modelling for Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing from the University of Strathclyde in 2014.  In 2018 she was awarded a UKRI Innovation Fellowship to pursue her research in the field of ultrasonic tomography for non-destructive evaluation. She was subsequently appointed as a Chancellor's Fellow in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Strathclyde in 2019 before moving as Senior Lecturer to the University of Glasgow in 2024.

Dr Tant works at the interface between applied mathematics, engineering and industry. Her central research interests include modelling waves in complex media, ultrasonics, inverse problems and imaging. As a result of her training and experience, she is committed to promoting the role of mathematics and data science in tackling real-world challenges and in 2016, she co-published the book UK Success Stories in Industrial Mathematics, which showcased mathematical research that had resulted in positive industrial, societal and environmental impacts. Dr Tant is also a passionate ambassador for women in science and diverse leadership. In June 2019, she was selected to participate in Homeward Bound, a global leadership initiative for women in STEMM. She currently leads Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity initiatives for PGR students which span the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. 

In 2023, Dr Tant co-led a petition to establish an IEEE UK & Ireland Chapter in Ultrasonics, Ferroelcetrics and Frequency Control, which she now chairs. She is also co-lead of the UK Acoustics Network + Special Interest Group in Acoustic Non-Destructive Evaluation.

Research interests

In today’s world, data driven inverse problems are ubiquitous. My central research objective is to develop mathematical models and frameworks which allow us to work backwards from observed data and derive insight about the world around us. I am particularly interested in interpreting scattered wave data to image the interior of solid objects and construct maps of their spatially varying material properties. This capability to look inside opaque objects has applications in a diverse array of fields, including non-destructive evaluation, medical imaging and diagnosis and seismology.

Publications

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2025

Matthaiou, I., Tant, Katy ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4345-7054, Dobie, G., McInnes, M., Dick, C., Ashok, P. and Hughes, D.A. (2025) On Ultrasonic Guided Wave Tomography Using a Decoder Architecture for Sparse Sensor Array Data. In: 2025 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS), Utrecht, The Netherlands, 15-18th September 2025, ISBN 9798331523329 (doi: 10.1109/IUS62464.2025.11201281)

This list was generated on Wed Dec 17 22:55:06 2025 GMT.
Jump to: Conference Proceedings
Number of items: 1.

Conference Proceedings

Matthaiou, I., Tant, Katy ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4345-7054, Dobie, G., McInnes, M., Dick, C., Ashok, P. and Hughes, D.A. (2025) On Ultrasonic Guided Wave Tomography Using a Decoder Architecture for Sparse Sensor Array Data. In: 2025 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS), Utrecht, The Netherlands, 15-18th September 2025, ISBN 9798331523329 (doi: 10.1109/IUS62464.2025.11201281)

This list was generated on Wed Dec 17 22:55:06 2025 GMT.

Prior publications

Conference Proceedings

Ludlam, J., Tant, K.M.M., Curtis, A., Dolean, V. (2025) Ultrasonic Travel-Time Tomography for Approximating the Local Elastic Tensor in Complex Media IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium Ius Scopus - Elsevier. ISBN 9798331523329 ISSN 19485719 19485727 (doi: 10.1109/IUS62464.2025.11201431)

Lukacs, P., Davis, G., Pieris, D., Zhang, J., Tant, K., Stratoudaki, T. (2024) Scattering-based Defect Characterisation using Laser Ultrasound Arrays IEEE Ultrasonics Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Joint Symposium Uffc Js 2024 Proceedings Scopus - Elsevier. ISBN 9798350371901 (doi: 10.1109/UFFC-JS60046.2024.10793986)

Keenan, A., Davis, G., Lukacs, P., Pieris, D., Singh, J., Tant, K., Stratoudaki, T. (2022) Component shape optimisation for improved Laser Induced Phased Array non-destructive ultrasonic testing 59th Annual Conference of the British Institute of Non Destructive Testing NDT 2022 Scopus - Elsevier. ISBN 9780903132794

Ferguson, A.S., Tant, K.M.M., Mulholland, A.J. (2021) Modelling of Ultrasonic Waves in Layered Elastic Heterogeneous Materials IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium Ius Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 19485719 19485727 (doi: 10.1109/IUS52206.2021.9593907)

Singh, J., Tant, K., Curtis, A., Mulholland, A. (2021) Real-time grain orientation mapping of anisotropic media for improved ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium Ius Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 19485719 19485727 (doi: 10.1109/IUS52206.2021.9593586)

Carlos Alberto da Costa Filho, Katherine Tant, Andrew Curtis, Anthony Mulholland, Carmel M. Moran (2018) Using laboratory experiments to develop and test new Marchenko and imaging methods Crossref. (doi: 10.1190/segam2018-2979521.1)

Dobson, J., Tweedie, A., Harvey, G., O'Leary, R., Mulholland, A., Tant, K., Gachagan, A. (2016) Finite element analysis simulations for ultrasonic array NDE inspections AIP Conference Proceedings Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 15517616 0094243X (doi: 10.1063/1.4940499)

Tant, K.M.M., Mulholland, A.J., Galetti, E., Curtis, A., Gachagan, A. (2016) Mapping the material microstructure of safety critical components using ultrasonic phased arrays IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, IUS Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 19485727 19485719 (doi: 10.1109/ULTSYM.2016.7728756)

Tant, K.M.M., Mulholland, A.J., Gachagan, A. (2015) An analytical approach to objectively sizing cracks using ultrasonic phased array data 54th Annual British Conference of Non-Destructive Testing, NDT 2015 Scopus - Elsevier.

Article

Nicolson, E., Mohseni, E., Lines, D., Tant, K.M.M., Pierce, G., MacLeod, C.N. (2024) Towards an in-process ultrasonic phased array inspection method for narrow-gap welds NDT and E International Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 09638695 (doi: 10.1016/j.ndteint.2024.103074)

Foster, E.A. et al. (2023) Thermal compensation of ultrasonic transmit and receive data for steel welded plates at the point of manufacture NDT and E International Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 09638695 (doi: 10.1016/j.ndteint.2023.102812)

Ludlam, J., Tant, K., Dolean, V., Curtis, A. (2023) Travel times and ray paths for acoustic and elastic waves in generally anisotropic media Journal of Computational Physics Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 00219991 10902716 (doi: 10.1016/j.jcp.2023.112500)

Ferguson, A.S., Mulholland, A.J., Tant, K.M.M., Foondun, M. (2023) Ultrasonic wave propagation in randomly layered heterogeneous media Wave Motion Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 01652125 (doi: 10.1016/j.wavemoti.2023.103138)

Singh, J., Tant, K., Mulholland, A., Macleod, C. (2022) Deep Learning Based Inversion of Locally Anisotropic Weld Properties from Ultrasonic Array Data Applied Sciences Switzerland Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 20763417 (doi: 10.3390/app12020532)

Singh, J., Tant, K., Curtis, A., Mulholland, A. (2022) Real-time super-resolution mapping of locally anisotropic grain orientations for ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation of crystalline material Neural Computing and Applications Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 09410643 14333058 (doi: 10.1007/s00521-021-06670-8)

Pettigrew, J.S., Mulholland, A.J., Tant, K.M.M. (2022) Towards a combined perfectly matching layer and infinite element formulation for unbounded elastic wave problems Mathematics and Mechanics of Solids Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 10812865 17413028 (doi: 10.1177/10812865211040855)

David P. Bourne, Anthony J. Mulholland, Smita Sahu, Katherine M. M. Tant (2021) An inverse problem for Voronoi diagrams: A simplified model of non‐destructive testing with ultrasonic arrays Mathematical Methods in the Applied Sciences Crossref. (doi: 10.1002/mma.6977)

Miller, A., Mulholland, A.J., Tant, K.M.M., Pierce, S.G., Hughes, B., Forbes, A.B. (2021) Reconstruction of refractive index maps using photogrammetry Inverse Problems in Science and Engineering Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 17415977 17415985 (doi: 10.1080/17415977.2021.1946533)

Singh, J., Mulholland, A.J., Tant, K.M.M., Stratoudaki, T., Curtis, A., Ijomah, W., Windmill, J.F.C. (2020) Component shape optimisation for enhanced non-destructive testing Materials and Design Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 18734197 02641275 (doi: 10.1016/j.matdes.2020.109041)

Tant, K.M.M., Galetti, E., Mulholland, A.J., Curtis, A., Gachagan, A. (2020) Effective grain orientation mapping of complex and locally anisotropic media for improved imaging in ultrasonic non-destructive testing Inverse Problems in Science and Engineering Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 17415985 17415977 (doi: 10.1080/17415977.2020.1762596)

Katherine M. M. Tant, Anthony J. Mulholland, Andrew Curtis, Winifred L. Ijomah (2019) Design-for-testing for improved remanufacturability Journal of Remanufacturing Crossref. (doi: 10.1007/s13243-018-0057-7)

K M M Tant, E Galetti, A J Mulholland, A Curtis, A Gachagan (2018) A transdimensional Bayesian approach to ultrasonic travel-time tomography for non-destructive testing Inverse Problems Crossref. (doi: 10.1088/1361-6420/aaca8f)

Cunningham, L.J., Mulholland, A.J., Tant, K.M.M., Gachagan, A., Harvey, G., Bird, C. (2017) A spectral method for sizing cracks using ultrasonic arrays Inverse Problems in Science and Engineering Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 17415985 17415977 (doi: 10.1080/17415977.2017.1297437)

Tant, K.M.M., Mulholland, A.J., Gachagan, A. (2017) Application of the factorisation method to limited aperture ultrasonic phased array data Acta Acustica united with Acustica Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 18619959 16101928 (doi: 10.3813/AAA.919125)

Laura J. Cunningham, Anthony J. Mulholland, Katherine M. M. Tant, Anthony Gachagan, Gerry Harvey, Colin Bird (2016) The detection of flaws in austenitic welds using the decomposition of the time-reversal operator Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences Crossref. (doi: 10.1098/rspa.2015.0500)

(2015) A fractional Fourier transform analysis of the scattering of ultrasonic waves Katherine Margaret Mary Tant. (doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2014.0958 )

(2015) A model-based approach to crack sizing with ultrasonic arrays Katherine Margaret Mary Tant. (doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TUFFc.2014.006809)

Other

Ludlam, J., Tant, K., Dolean, V., Curtis, A. (2023) Travel times and ray paths for acoustic and elastic waves in generally anisotropic media Arxiv Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 23318422 (doi: 10.48550/arXiv.2302.10988)

Singh, J., Tant, K.M.M., Curtis, A., Mulholland, A.J. (2021) Real-time super-resolution mapping of locally anisotropic grain orientations for ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation of crystalline material Arxiv Scopus - Elsevier. ISSN 23318422 (doi: 10.48550/arxiv.2105.09466)

Katherine Tant, Theodosia Stratoudaki (2019) Reconstruction of Missing Ultrasonic Phased Array Data Using Matrix Completion 2019 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS) Crossref Metadata Search. (doi: 10.1109/ultsym.2019.8925629)

Katherine M.M. Tant, Carlos A. Da Costa Filho, Andrew Curtis (2018) Defect Imaging Using Sub-Sampled Array Data and Least Squares Migration 2018 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS) Crossref Metadata Search. (doi: 10.1109/ultsym.2018.8579786)

Kmm, T., Mulholland, A.J., Langer, M., Gachagan, A. (2015) A fractional fourier transform analysis of the scattering of ultrasonic waves Proc. R. Soc. A Scopus - Elsevier.

Book

Aston, P.J., Mulholland, A.J., Tant, K.M.M. (2016) UK success stories in industrial mathematics UK Success Stories in Industrial Mathematics Scopus - Elsevier. (doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-25454-8)

Grants

  • Multiple wave scattering in locally resonant materials with degrees of (dis)order. London Mathematical Society, Conference and Workshop Grant, K. Tant. £5,400. October 2025.
  • KTP between Novosound and University of Strathclyde, K. Tant, G. Dobie, D. Hughes. Innovate UK, £102,560, July 2024-July 2025.

Supervision

  • Douglas, Leah
    Nanobubbles for Earlier Pancreatic Cancer Detection
  • McKenna, Jason
    Optimisation of ultrasound sensors for enhanced haptics

Current students and projects external to University of Glasgow

  • Ultrasonic Characterisation of Microtexture Regions in Titanium Alloys, David Robertson-Harra, University of Strathclyde.
  • Variational Bayesian Inversion for Ultrasonic Travel-Time Tomography, James Ludlam, University of Strathclyde.
  • Improving Ultrasonic Imaging using Machine Learning, Oliver Coates, University of Strathclyde.
  • Enhanced Ocean Forecasting using Machine Learning and Domain Knowledge, Merlijn Surtel, University of Strathclyde.

Teaching

Engineering Level 5: Advanced Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning 5

Engineering Level 5: Advanced Ultrasonics

Professional activities & recognition

Research fellowships

  • 2018 - 2021: EPSRC Innovation Fellowship

Editorial boards

  • 2025: Proceedings of the Royal Society A

Professional & learned societies

  • 2021 - Current: Fellow, Higher Education Academy / Advance HE
  • Senior Member, IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
  • 2024 - Current: Chair, IEEE UK & Ireland UFFC Chapter
  • 2023 - Current: Member, Institute of Physics

Head shot of Katy Tant