Sarah Matthews

Sarah Matthews is Professor of Solar Physics and Head of Solar Physics at University College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) within the Faculty of Maths & Physical Sciences. She also serves as the Department's Director of Education and Student Experience and chaired the Departmental Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee for 8 years (2014-2022).

Academically, Matthews holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Bachelor of Science (Honours), both from the University of Glasgow, completed in 1996 and 1992 respectively. She currently serves as External Examiner at the University of Birmingham since May 2023.

Her research focuses on energy storage and release in magnetized plasmas, with particular emphasis on solar eruptive events and space weather. Primarily an observer, she brings together multi-wavelength space and ground-based observations, and collaborates with magnetic field modelers to interpret observations in the context of current models. She has significant instrumentation expertise and currently serves as the Hinode EIS PI and instrument lead for the ESA-funded short-wavelength camera for the Solar-C mission.

Matthews' recent publications demonstrate expertise across solar physics, particularly in solar flares, magnetic reconnection, solar instrumentation, and space weather. While most of her work is in solar physics, she has also contributed to educational research and engineering topics, showing interdisciplinary reach.

• Daiwa-Adrian Prize for Anglo-Japanese collaboration (2016)
• Group Achievement award for Hinode EIS (2015)

Professor Matthews leads the MSc Space Science & Engineering program and teaches various modules including Space Data Systems and Processing, Space Science, Environment and Satellite Missions, and Solar Physics. She has been actively involved in numerous professional activities including conference organization, serving on review panels for research councils, and membership in professional organizations like the International Astronomical Union.