Dr Soko Matsumura is a theoretical astrophysicist, and her research primarily focuses on formation, evolution, and dynamics of planetary systems. She uses both numerical and analytical techniques to study problems that are often motivated by recent observations. In particular, she is interested in investigating the origins of orbital architecture of planetary systems, and the imprints of past orbital evolution of planetary systems on the observed systems. She is also interested in the physical processes that shape the circumstellar disks and the debris disks.
She obtained her PhD in Physics & Astronomy under the supervision of Prof Ralph Pudritz at McMaster University (Canada). From 2006 to 2009, she was a postdoctoral researcher with Prof Fred Rasio at Northwestern University (USA). In 2009, she was awarded a Prize Fellowship of the Astronomy Center for Theory and Computation at the University of Maryland (USA). She joined the University of Dundee as a Dundee Fellow and a Lecturer in September 2013.
