Matthew Santer

Matthew Santer is a Professor of Aerospace Structures at the Department of Aeronautics, Imperial College London, and Co-Director of the School for Convergence Science in Space, Security and Telecoms. He holds affiliations with the Structural Metamaterials group, The Composites Centre, Space Lab, and other interdisciplinary research units.

He earned an MEng in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Multistable Structures Design from the University of Cambridge. His career includes engineering roles at Astrium (now Airbus) before joining Imperial College in 2008.

His research focuses on adaptive/deployable aerospace systems, multidisciplinary structural optimization, multistable materials, and compliant structures. Notable projects include the HATHOR deployable aeroshell for planetary landers and rigid-foldable reflector designs based on origami principles.

Key scientific awards include Fellowships from the Royal Aeronautical Society and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He advises doctoral students in metamaterials, deployable systems, and related fields. His work bridges computational modeling, experimental validation, and engineering applications in aerospace and space systems.

Labs/Teams: Structural Metamaterials Group (co-leader), Composites Centre, Space Engineering Research Unit (affiliated).