It is with deep regret that we announce the sudden, unexpected and currently unexplained death of Catherine Hsu (LHS 2008) at the age of 35 in her flat in Sydney, Australia where she was working as a Senior Pipeline Technical Director for Disney’s Industrial Light & Magic.
Her most recent major work was on the films Wicked (2024) and Alien: Romulus (2024), both of which were nominated for the 2025 Academy Award ‘Oscars’ for Best Visual Effects. Catherine was the first student of Loughborough High School to study Computer Science A-level, under the tuition of Mr Mel Starkings and Mr Rob Statham, and then progressed to study Computer Science at the University of Bath before going on to have a career in Digital Visual Effects. Catherine’s work is probably best described by one of her ILM colleagues on Catherine’s Much Loved website under the Life Story “Flying Monkeys”.
“Catherine’s biggest single contribution to the project [was that] she was instrumental in designing and developing a system to automate the realistic simulation of costumes, hair and feathers. Put simply, every time you see a monkey flying in Wicked know that Catherine played an absolutely key role in making that happen. In these ways and many, many others the impact of her work here will continue for years to come. It’s no exaggeration to say that she set a new bar for what someone in her role can achieve. I’m very thankful to have known Catherine. There’s a lot I’ll miss, but perhaps most of all I’ll miss her patiently (and sometimes not-so-patiently) explaining things to me over and over until I finally catchup. Her talent, her character, her wit, her banter, her dedication, and her relentless pursuit of “better” will not be forgotten and it is already sorely missed. Rest in peace Legend and thank you for all of it. Nick PO”
