Rate My Professor Sean Matt

Sean Matt holds the Homer L. Dodge Endowed Chair in Astrophysics and serves as Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Oklahoma, positions he assumed in 2023. He received a B.S. in Physics and Astronomy, cum laude, from the University of Arizona in 1996, an M.S. in Astronomy from the University of Washington in 1998, and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Washington in 2002. Prior to his current role, Matt was Associate Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Exeter from 2016 to 2023 and Senior Lecturer there from 2013 to 2016. His earlier career includes prestigious postdoctoral appointments such as NASA Postdoctoral Program Senior Fellow at NASA Ames Research Center from 2008 to 2010, Levinson/VITA Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Virginia from 2005 to 2008, and CITA National Postdoctoral Fellow at McMaster University from 2002 to 2004. He has also held positions at CEA Saclay, Space Science Institute, and other institutions.

Matt's research centers on stellar astrophysics, encompassing star formation and evolution, star-disk interactions, stellar winds, angular momentum transport, accretion, convection, magnetic field generation, and the formation of jets and nebulae. He utilizes hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamical theory, modeling, numerical simulations, and high-performance computing techniques. As principal investigator, he has obtained significant funding totaling approximately $5 million, including the European Research Council Consolidator Grant AWESoMeStars (€2,206,205; 2016-2022), a Simons Foundation sabbatical visiting researcher grant ($88,000; 2023), and STFC Astrophysics Grants. Key publications include 'An abrupt change in the stellar spin-down law at the fully convective boundary' (Nature Astronomy, 2024), 'Further evidence of the link between activity and metallicity using the flaring properties of stars in the Kepler field' (MNRAS, 2023), and 'Effects of accretion on the structure and rotation of forming stars' (A&A, 2023). Matt has supervised 10 postdoctoral researchers, 8 PhD students, 15 master's students, and 26 undergraduates. He teaches courses such as Computational Physics and Astrophysics and Stars at OU, and has received commendations for teaching excellence at Exeter. He referees for journals including ApJ, A&A, and MNRAS.