Tamsin Mather FRS MAE
Tamsin Mather at the summit ofVillarrica volcano, Chile in 2003
Born	Tamsin Alice Mather 1976 (age 48–49)[1][3] Bristol,[4] England
Alma mater	University of Cambridge (MSci, MPhil, PhD)
Children	Two[5]
Awards	Fellow of the Royal Society (2024) Geochemistry Fellow (2022) Member of the Academia Europaea (2021) Rosalind Franklin Award (2018) Philip Leverhulme Prize (2010)[1] L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award (2008)
Scientific career
Fields	Volcanology[2] Atmospheric chemistry[2]
Institutions	University of Oxford
Thesis	Near-source chemistry of tropospheric volcanic plumes (2004)
Website	www.earth.ox.ac.uk/people/mather

Scholia has a profile forTamsin A. Mather(Q55487783).

Tamsin Alice MatherFRS MAE (born 1976)^[1][3][4] is a British Professor ofEarth Sciences at theDepartment of Earth Sciences,University of Oxford^[2][6][7][8] and aFellow ofUniversity College, Oxford.^[9] She studies volcanic processes and their impacts on the Earth's environment^[10] and has appeared on the television and radio.

Mather was born and raised inBristol, the daughter of William Mather and Felicity Mather.^[4] She was educated atSt John's College, Cambridge, where she was awarded aMaster of Science degree in 1999, aMaster of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in 2000 and aDoctor of Philosophy degree in 2004.^[1][11] As an undergraduate she studied theNatural Sciences Tripos before switching to theHistory and Philosophy of Science for her MPhil (in the same MPhil class asHelen Macdonald andKatherine Angel).^[1] She spent a year working abroad before returning to science for her PhD which was completed in theDepartment of Earth Sciences and investigated the chemistry of volcanic plumes in thetroposphere.^[11][12][13] Her PhD involved working inChile,Nicaragua andItaly.^[13][14]

Mather studies volcanic behaviour working to understand volcanoes as natural hazards, planetary scale processes and natural resources.^[15][16] Mather is a Professor of Earth Sciences at theUniversity of Oxford and a fellow ofUniversity College, Oxford.^[17]

She is part of the Centre for the Observation and Modeling ofEarthquakes, Volcanoes andTectonics (COMET) project,^[18] which is a “collaborative centre for understanding tectonic and volcanic processes and hazards though the integrated application ofEarth Observation (EO) data, ground-based measurements, andgeophysical models”.

Other current projects include: theEuropean Research Council funded project Revealing hidden volcanic triggers for global environmental change events in Earth’s geological past using mercury (Hg); Rethinking Natural Resources^[19] funded by theOxford Martin School.

Previous projects include theNatural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded RiftVolc project,^[20] researching past and current volcanism and volcanic hazards in the main Ethiopian rift; theNatural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded Volatiles, Geodynamics & Solid Earth Controls on the Habitable Planet programme researching deep Earth influences in the long-term evolution of the Earth;^[21] theNatural Environment Research Council (NERC) andEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Strengthening Resilience in Volcanic Areas collaboration, (STREVA) which looked to establish a risk assessment framework for volcanoes.^[22]

Her research into the role of volcanism in planetary scale processes^[23] includes the discovery that volcanic vents performnitrogen fixation making it available to for use by life, possibly a significant source on the early Earth as life was evolving.^[24][25] and the potential of the element mercury as a tracer for past large-scale volcanism with widespread environmental impacts including mass extinction events.^[26]

Mather's other research includes investigations into volcanic plumes,^[27] the effects of volcanic emissions andaerosols on the environment, and the structure and stability of volcanoes.^[28] She has also studied the emissions fromBuncefield fire at theBuncefield oil depot in 2005^[28] and is interested in themercury cycle,^[29] as well as otherbiogeochemical cycles.

Mather has led or collaborated on work studying volcanoes around the world, bothin situ and usingremote sensing data from ground or satellite based platforms.^[5] Volcanoes Mather has studied includeBárðarbunga,^[30]Hekla,^[31] andEyjafjallajökull inIceland,^[32] theSantorini caldera in Greece,^[33] theVillarica,Lascar,Chaitén^[34] andCalbuco volcanoes inChile,^[35][13][36]Masaya Volcano inNicaragua^[37] (where she was held up at gunpoint),^[5][38]Mount Etna in Italy,^[39]Galeras inColombia,^[40] theSantiaguito lava dome complex inGuatemala,^[41] and theGreat Rift Valley, Ethiopia.^[20][42]

Mather's research has been funded by theNatural Environment Research Council (NERC), theScience and Technology Facilities Council (STFC),^[43] theEuropean Research Council and theRoyal Society.^[23]

In 2005 she served as aParliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) Fellow^[44] producing a POSTnote note onCarbon capture and storage,^[45] she served as co-editor-in-chief ofEarth and Planetary Science Letters 2014–2019, on theboard of directors of theGeochemical Society 2017–2019,^[44] on theNatural Environment Research Council Science Board/Committee 2017–2021 and on theInternational Continental Scientific Drilling Program Science Advisory Group 2019–2022. She currently serves as the Chair of the Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group for UK and Ireland^[46] and the Police Science Council.^[47]

In 2016 Mather appeared on theBBC World Service discussing volcanoes and earthquakes.^[48] Mather was interviewed onBBC Radio 4'sThe Life Scientific in 2017.^[5] She has taken part inPint of Science, lectured at theRoyal Institution^[49][50] and appeared on podcasts.^[5] She was a guest onThe Infinite Monkey Cage alongsideJo Brand andClive Oppenheimer in February 2018^[51] and spoke atNew Scientist Live in 2018.^[12] and was again a guest onThe Infinite Monkey Cage in July 2023^[52]

In 2024 she published her first book 'Adventures in Volcanoland' in the UK (Abacus) and USA (Hanover Square Press).

• 2024: Elected aFellow of the Royal Society^[53]
• 2022: Appointed a geochemistry fellow by theEuropean Association of Geochemistry^[54]
• 2021: Elected aMember of the Academia Europaea (MAE)^[55]
• 2018: Awarded theRosalind Franklin Award of theRoyal Society.^[56]
• 2010: Awarded thePhilip Leverhulme Prize by theLeverhulme Trust.
• 2008: Awarded the nationalL'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award.^[57]
• 2005: Awarded aDorothy HodgkinResearch Fellowship by theRoyal Society, which funded the study of volatile emissions from volcanoes.^[23]

• Living people
• 1976 births
• People from Bristol
• Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
• British geologists
• Members of Academia Europaea
• British volcanologists
• Fellows of University College, Oxford
• Philip Leverhulme Prize winners
• Fellows of the Royal Society

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