He is co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Animal Dynamics[2][4] and is also chairman of the flight section of the Bionis International Biomimetics Network.
[8] His mechanical analogue of dragonflies was developed by his company, Animal Dynamics Ltd, to make small unmanned aerial vehicles (aka drones or ornithopters) to outperform quadcopters.
[2] The company has expanded into the biomechanics of fish to develop a machine powered by the same type of flapping propulsion.
[1] Thomas has supervised several Doctor of Philosophy students including Graham Taylor,[17] Simon Walker[18] and Richard Bomphrey.
[2] He was an aerodynamics consultant with Airwave Gliders GmbH, who manufactured paragliders, hang-gliders and ultralight aircraft.