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
- Jan 2026: I’m dead chuffed to be awarded the 2026 Royal Astronomical Society “Chapman Medal” for “investigations of outstanding merit in the science of the Sun, space and planetary environments or solar-terrestrial physics”
- Nov 2025: Welcome back to Lauren James who will be working on validating our space weather forecasts for the UK Met Office.
- Sep 2025: We welcome Chitradeep Saha to the group. He’s working on long-term solar reconstructions.
- 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.
Old news is archived here
Externally funded research projects
- Current: Validation of HUXt forecasts (UKMO funded)
- 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.