I am a Professor of Space Physics in the Department of Meteorology and a member of the Space and Atmospheric Electricity Group (SPATE). I am the Research Division Lead for Earth Observations and Space.
I am currently an associate editor for Solar Physics. My primary research interests are:
- The heliospheric magnetic field
- Large-scale solar wind structure
- Empirical and numerical space-weather forecasting
- Forecast validation methods
- Reconstructions of long-term solar variability
Recent news
- May 2025: Mike Dee, Margo Kuitems, Ben Pope and I are hosting a Royal Society Theo Murhpy meeting on Radiocarbon and Cosmic Radiation Events in Edinburgh. Details here.
- May 2025: I have a 3-year postdoc position available for an STFC project on reconstructing solar activity. Closing date is 4th June.
- Mar 2025: We welcome a new PhD student to the group: Renzo Lam is working on historical space weather on a project sponsored by EDF Energy.
- Feb 2025: I have joined the Space Environment Impacts Expert Group (SEIEG) which provides space weather advice to the UK Met Office and government departments.
- Jan 2025: We have a RAS Specialist Discussion meeting on solar dynamos, dynamics and solar cycle 25.
- Nov 2024: I did a “Space Weather Unplugged” talk on forecasting for aurora, which can be viewed here.
- May 2024: The mid-May G5 geomagnetic storm was a bit exciting, wasn’t it? A few highlights: CCN, Sky News, BBC News, BBC South, LBC, France24, CGTN, Washington Post, Science.
- Apr 2024: Last one for a while: Congrats to Harriet Turner for passing her PhD viva. And thanks to Manuela Temmer of University of Graz for acting as external examiner.
Old news is archived here
Externally funded research projects
- Current: Were solar cycles fundamentally different in the past? (STFC funded)
- Current: Why have space-weather forecasts not improved for more than a decade? (NERC funded)
- Finished: What determines the open solar magnetic flux? (STFC funded)
- Finished: Solar wind forecasting from L5 (ESA funded)
- Finished: Space Weather Empirical Ensemble Package (STFC SWIMMR)
- Finished: Creation/destruction of heliospheric magnetic flux (STFC funded)
- Finished: Solar wind data assimilation (NERC funded)
- Finished: Space Weather Impact on Ground-based Systems (NERC funded)
- Finished: Driving Space Weather forecasts with real data (NERC funded)
- Finished: The heliosphere and space weather under space-climate change (STFC funded)
- Finished: Geomagnetic, sunspot and cosmogenic nuclide reconstructions of the solar magnetic field (Leverhulme funded)
Current postdoctoral researchers & graduate students
- Renzo Lam. Historical space weather. Co-supervised by Dr Joe Eggington of EDF Energy.
- Dechen Gyeltshen. Coronal mass ejection dynamics between the Sun and the Earth.
- Nathaniel Edward-Inatimi. Creating smarter ensembles for probabilistic solar wind forecasting. Met Office CASE award with Dr Mike Marsh and Dr Siegfried Gonzi.
- Sarah Watson. Solar Wind Interactions with Planets and Minor Planetary Bodies. Co-supervised with Prof Chris Scott.
- Dr Harriet Turner Solar wind forecasting through data assimilation.
Previous postdocs & students
- Blair McGinness Coronal mass ejection observations and forecasting.
- Dr Luke Barnard. Solar wind modeling and assimilation of Heliospheric Imager data.
- Dr Stephanie Yardley. Working on sources of slow solar wind.
- Dr Anna Frost. Former PhD student, studying solar wind formation through in situ observations.
- Dr Lauren James. Former PhD student, studying the evolution of coronal mass ejections in the heliosphere. Co-supervised with Prof Chris Scott.
- Dr Allan Macneil. Analysing solar wind electron observations of the inner heliosphere.
- Dr Matthew Lang. Developing data assimilation techniques for the solar wind.
- Austin Jones. Former PhD student, studying the link between thunderstorm activity and the ionosphere. Co-supervised with Prof Chris Scott.
- Dr Teo Bloch. Former PhD student, applying machine learning to space physics problems. Co-supervised with Prof Clare Watt.
- Dr Carl Haines. Former PhD student, characterising geomagnetic disturbances. In conjunction with EDF Energy.
- Dr Bingkun Yu. Working on lightning effects on the ionosphere.
- Dr Nachiketa Chakraborty. Causal inference problems in space weather science.
- Dr Shannon Jones. Former PhD student, working on coronal mass ejections using Heliospheric Imager observations. Co-supervised with Prof Chris Scott.
- Dr Maria Valdivieso da Costa. Digitising and processing historical thunder observations.
- Dr Sarah Bentley. Former PhD student, working on solar wind driving of magnetospheric wave power and its effects on the radiation belts. Co-supervised with Prof Clare Watt.
- Dr Mai Mai Lam. Space-troposphere coupling and space influences on the global atmospheric electric circuit.
- Dr Adam El-Said. Testing the “Enlil” solar wind model initialised with Heliospheric Imager data.
- Dr Kim Tucker-Hood. Former PhD student, Co-supervised with Prof Chris Scott and Prof David Jackson through a Met Office CASE award. Working on solar storm forecasting from heliospheric imager data.
- Dr Simon Thomas. Former PhD student, analysing ground-based neutron monitor data.