I am currently a 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, and a member of the Exoteric Lab. I was previously a postdoctoral researcher in the Astronomy department at the University of Maryland. I completed my PhD at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge. My PhD thesis can be accessed here.

If you're interested in any of my research topics listed below, feel free to get in touch at matthewnixon[at]asu.edu.

ADS | ORCiD | Github | CV

I maintain a spreadsheet of JWST transiting exoplanet observations, which can be accessed here. Let me know if you publish some observations I should include, or if you notice anything I've missed.

Deciphering sub-Neptunes through joint atmospheric-interior characterisation

Planets larger than Earth, but smaller than Neptune, are common in the Galaxy despite being absent from the Solar System. My research aims to better understand the structure, formation and evolution of these mysterious planets by building models that link their observable atmospheres to processes occurring in the deep interior

Using three-dimensional structure to reveal the climates of giant exoplanets

New observatories such as JWST and high-resolution ground-based facilities are providing evidence of three-dimensional inhomogeneity across the atmospheres of giant irradiated exoplanets. My work involves developing new techniques that can leverage these observations to gain insight into the climate and dynamics of these worlds.

Building the next-generation toolkit for exoplanet atmospheres

My research also explores the need for advanced statistical and computational methods when interpreting state-of-the-art exoplanet observations, particularly as we push towards characterising small planets that test the limits of our facilities.