Chairman / Founding Member
Professor Roger Paul Webb
Director, Ion Beam Centre, University of Surrey
Prof Webb was the Director of the EPSRC Surrey Ion Beam Centre and the UK National Ion Beam Centre (a collaboration between the Universities of Huddersfield, Manchester and Surrey) from 2004 until 2024. In 2024 he took partial retirement and stepped down as full director of the facility. He is a founding member and chair of the international committee of the Computer Simulation of Radiation Effects in Solids and Radiation Effects in Matter conference series and he is the UK representative on the European Conference on Accelerators and Applied Research and the International Ion Beam Analysis conference series. He has been a member on a number of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) advisory panels relating to ion beam interactions with materials as well as chair of the Institute of Physics Ion and Plasma Surface Interactions special interest group. He has published over 270 refereed papers and book chapters and made more than 240 presentations at conferences and workshops worldwide. He leads research programmes advancing new methods for ion beam analysis. He has ~50 years of experience in the application and understanding of ion-solid interactions.
He obtained his PhD from the University of Salford in 1980 and spent 3 years at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California before joining the Ion Beam Centre at the University of Surrey as a research fellow. He became a lecturer in micro-electronics at Surrey in 1986 and was made a full professor of ion beam physics in 2002. He has conducted additional research at Penn State University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Founding Member
Matthew Hood is a Charted Engineer and Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, a Member of the Institute of Engineering Technology and the Association for Project Management. He trained with the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors and was responsible for design, oversight of build, testing and support of warships. During his time in the Ministry of Defence he worked in research establishments looking into the properties of materials and worked on ships in refit where large quantities of lead ballast were being rearranged to manage stability. Matthew has worked on a wide range of defence technologies throughout his career and is currently assisting the concept designs for the next generation fleet for the Royal Navy. He was first introduced to the lead books in 2008 and has since assisted with technical analysis, with a focus on corrosion.
Founding Member
Dr Brian Mathew, Member of Parliament for Melksham and Devizes
Prior to being elected to Parliament in the summer of 2024 Brian served as a Wiltshire Councillor for eight years. This followed a career in overseas Aid, much of it spent at the ‘sharp end’. Brian worked with communities to help them develop sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). This included assignments with a number of international non-government and government organisations including WaterAid (Country Representative – Tanzania, World Vision – East Timor, Plan – Guinea Bissau, Lutheran World Federation – Zambia & Angola, EuroConsult – Darfur Sudan, DFID – Zimbabwe, EU – Malawi, SAFAD – Honduras). He became interested in the Jordan Codices following a chance meeting with David Elkington in his home county of Wiltshire.
Founding Member
Jennifer Solignac’s background has been anything but conventional. Born in Key West, Florida, she spent her formative years in Heidelberg, Germany. She holds a BA in European History with a minor in the History of Art from the American University of Paris. Jennifer remained in Paris and became the European Marketing Director for Artes Magnus, a fine art company working with renowned contemporary artists. She later worked as a music agent, casting and promoting operas and classical concerts worldwide before relocating to London and changing careers. In London, Jennifer established a PR consultancy from her office in Chelsea, specialising in literary publicity for nonfiction works, alongside copywriting projects for high-profile clients including TIME magazine, Alexander Forbes, Harvey Nichols’ Prism Restaurant, and luxury property developers, as well as the Princess Margarita of Romania Trust. She has also served as a senior content writer for QDOOZ, a motivational app that connects world-leading mentors and coaches with a global audience. In 2008, Jennifer initiated an international campaign to recognise the Jordan Codices and in 2013, co-authored an academic text entitled What are the Jordan Lead Codices? The Mystery of the Sealed Lead Books with distinguished scholars in the field, attracting global media coverage. Since 2020, Jennifer has focused on writing, recently completing two nonfiction works based on her memoirs of being in the eye of the storm of controversy and political intrigue surrounding the Lead Codices.