Table of Biography
Karen Rafferty is a popular Electrical engineer and head of the School of Electronics. Karen Rafferty currently serves with virtual and augmented reality for health care and automation.
Early Life and Education
Karen Rafferty hasn’t disclosed her exact date of birth and birthplace. Rafferty attended Queen’s University Belfast to study electrical and electronic engineering. She graduated from St. Patrick’s Girls Academy in Dungannon, County Tyrone. Karen earned her master’s degree with distinction in 1999 after completing a year of industrial practice with NIE and in Norway. She remained there to complete her graduate work and was a doctoral candidate with a focus on image processing. The Civil Aviation Authority funded her Ph.D. research into image processing and pattern recognition methods.
Moreover, her studies focused on environmental sensing and, in particular, automated evaluation and verification of airport landing lighting array performance. She worked as a teaching fellow after earning her Ph.D. under the direction of Dr. Gordon Dodds, and she earned a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education in 2005. Rafferty introduced computer animation and graphics into the assessment modules of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering course, among other teaching innovations. Since 2000, her research interests have primarily focused on virtual and augmented reality, particularly how the visual components of these technologies can be improved by integrating them with other senses.
Research and Career
Karen Rafferty was hired as a lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast’s School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering. She developed a fascination for tactile feedback and virtual reality. Her research focuses on automation, industry, training, and health. She participates in the research project Performance without Barriers, which increases accessibility to music and performance.
Rafferty was appointed deputy head of Queen’s University Belfast’s School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science (EEECS) in 2016. In 2018, she received a promotion to Head of School. Moreover, she oversees the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s (EPSRC) Inclusion Matters grant and is the Athena Swan coordinator for EEECS. Karen oversees the Belfast Telegraph IT awards as a judge. She announced 40 full cybersecurity scholarships at Queen’s University Belfast in 2019.
Awards and Honours
For her hard work and successful career, she has won many awards and achievements. She won the Royal Academy of Engineering Teaching Award in 2005. Likewise, she received the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers Award in 2011. Karen also won the Institution of Engineering and Technology Innovation Award in the year 2011. Moreover, she took home Springer Best Paper Award in 2019.
Caption: Karen Rafferty receiving award at her own university
Source: Queen’s University Belfast
Karen Rafferty – Net Worth 2024
Karen Rafferty might have earned a sizable amount of money throughout her career. However, there are no details about her earnings, salary, and net worth in the media.
Personal Life
Karen Rafferty has always been secretive about her relationships and love life. The media is unaware of whether she is single, in a relationship, or married.
Social Media
Moving into her social life, Karen Rafferty has always been away from the limelight and media. Hence, she is not active on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Karen Rafferty – Physical Appearances
Reflecting on her body stats, there are no details about her height, weight, dress size, waist size, shoe size, and so on. But looking at her pictures we can assume that she has a pair of brown eyes with brown colored hair.