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Matthew H. Rolley

Matthew H. Rolley, PhD

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering program

Biography

Matthew received his dual-accredited BEng degrees in Mechanical and Electrical/Electronic Engineering with honours from Cardiff University in 2012. He then went on to complete his PhD, specialising in solar photovoltaic (PV) technology hybrids with thermoelectrics, successfully graduating after just two and a half years in early 2015. During his PhD, Matt led two major international research consortia: the first, “SUNTRAP,” in collaboration with the Universities of Exeter, Glasgow, Bangor, and Jaén (Spain); and the second, the DEPECT project, where he worked as a lead researcher focusing on novel, innovative thermoelectric generator (TEG) architectures.

Matthew then joined Renishaw, a leading UK company specialising in coordinate measuring machine (CMM) probes and precision encoders. There, he contributed to the design of the next generation of Raman spectrometers. It was during this period that Matt was awarded Chartered Engineer (CEng) status by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers from his contributions and expertise in electro-mechanical designs; becoming one of the youngest chartered members from the institute at the time.

Matthew then transitioned into the defence sector, applying his design expertise and passion for prototyping and innovation at MBDA, the UK’s leading missile design company. He initially established himself as a subject matter expert in RF technology, leading the design, build, and testing of high-power Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs)—or “lasers and rayguns”—for military applications. He later advanced to become a Principal Engineer within MBDA’s Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) department, leveraging his in-depth understanding of electromagnetic phenomena for system-level compliance and performance.

Following a series of successful deliveries across multiple projects, Matthew was assigned as lead of a specialist team focused on nuclear hardening. In this role, he spearheaded the robust design of satellite hardware, working as an electronics and mechanical technical consultant. This included designing advances RF circuits, including custom MMICs, analogue circuitry, GaAs amplifiers and ASIC based processing PCBs. He helped design and validate radiation-hardened circuits and mission-critical subsystems for space-grade and missile-related applications. Under his leadership, Matthew and his team of world-class nuclear physicists and electronics engineers over-delivered on a critical £7 million project for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), reinforcing his reputation for excellence in innovation, reliability, and leadership within high-stakes environments.

  • Semiconductors; from junction design, fabrication, packaging, prototyping and implementing into final production deliverable.
  • Solar and renewable energy; photovoltaics, photothermal systems and thermoelectric.
  • Electromagnetic, RF and EMC based optimisation design, test and best practises.
  • AI, machine learning (structured and unstructured) and deployment/optimisation within Edge and IoTs applications.

Academic Research Consortiums

  • CAD,EDA and DFMA.
  • Rapid prototyping and 3D printing.
  • Simulation; MATLAB, COMSOL, ANSYS, CST.
  • Software; MATLAB, Python, C#, C++, Assembly.
  • Embedded systems
  • Electromagnetics and RF design. Hardening and radiation-tolerant circuit design.
  • SI, PI and high-speed digital circuits.
  • Quality; Six sigma, DFMA, SPC, PPAP. Agile (Scrum master) and waterfall project (PMP) expert. Building high functioning teams.

Journal Papers

  • Sweet, T.K.N., M.H. Rolley, W. Li, M.C. Paul, A. Johnson, J.I. Davies, R. Tuely, K. Simpson. Design and Characterization of Hybrid III-V Concentrator Photovoltaic–Thermoelectric Receiver Designs under Primary and Secondary Optical Elements. Applied Energy, 2018. 226: p. 772-783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.06.018.
  • Hasan Baig, J.S., W. Li, M.C. Paul, A. Montecucco, M.H. Rolley, T.K. N. Sweet, M. Gao, P.A. Mullen, E.F. Fernandez, G. Han, D.H. Gregory, A.R. Knox, Tapas Mallick, Conceptual design and performance evaluation of a hybrid concentrating photovoltaic system. energy, 2018. 147: p. 547- 560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.12.127
  • Rolley, M.H., T.K. Sweet, and G. Min, Photovoltaic–thermoelectric temperature control using a closed-loop integrated cooler. IET Optoelectronics, 2017. 12: p. 20-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-opt.2017.0072
  • Li, W., M. Paul, M. Rolley, et al., A scaling law for monocrystalline PV/T modules with CCPC and comparison with triple junction PV cells. Applied Energy, 2017. 202: p. 755-771.
  • Li, W., M. Paul, M. Rolley, et al., A coupled optical-thermal-electrical model to predict the performance of hybrid PV/T-CCPC roof-top systems. Renewable Energy, 2017. 112: p. 166-186. 

Conference Papers

  • Rolley, M.H., T.K. Sweet, L. Eerens. Outdoor Experimental Testing of a Commercial CPV module against a HiT Flat-Plate Alternative. 14th Photovoltaic Science Applications and Technology Conference (PVSAT-14), Imperial College London, 18-20/04/18.Rolley, M.H., T.K. Sweet, L. Eerens, J.P Ferrer- Rodríguez, E.F. Fernández.
  • Experimental Comparison of a III:V Triple-Junction Concentrator Photovoltaic-Thermoelectric (CPV-TE) Hybrid Module with Commercial CPV and Flat Plate Silicon Modules. AIP Conference Proceedings 2018, AIP Publishing.
  • Rolley, M.H., T.K. Sweet. Addressing Secondary Optical Element Misalignment of Concentrator Photovoltaic-Thermoelectric Hybrid Receivers, via Multispectral Computer Vision, Artificial Neural Networks, Deep Learning and a Thermoelectric-Enhanced Spectral Emissivity Map Correction Technique. AIP Conference Proceedings 2018, AIP Publishing (abstract only).
  • Sweet, T., M. Rolley, W. Lib, et al., Experimental Characterization and Multiphysics Simulation of a Triple-Junction Cell in a Novel Hybrid III: V Concentrator Photovoltaic–Thermoelectric Receiver Design with Secondary Optical Element. Energy Procedia, 2017.
  • Sweet, T.K.N., M.H. Rolley, M.J. Prest, et al., Novel hybrid III:V concentrator photovoltaic thermoelectric receiver designs. AIP Conference Proceedings, 2017. 1881(1): p. 080009.
  • Rolley, M.H., T.K. Sweet, and G. Min. In-situ thermoelectric temperature monitoring and “Closed-loop integrated control” system for concentrator photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid receivers. in AIP Conference Proceedings. 2017. AIP Publishing.
  • Rolley, M., T. Sweet, V. Stoichkov, et al. Triple-junction concentrator photovoltaic thermoelectric hybrid receivers: robustness, validation and preliminary reliability studies. in 13th Photovoltaic Science, Application and Technology Conference (PVSAT-13); Bangor, Wales, UK, 5-7 April 2017. 2017. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/id/eprint/100662.
  • Rolley, M., T. Sweet, and G. Min. Device Integration of Concentrator Photovoltaics and Thermoelectrics. in 16th Semiconductor and Integrated Optoelectronics Conference (SIOE ‘16), Cardiff, Wales, UK. 2016.
  • Sweet, T.K., M. Rolley, G. Min, et al. Scalable solar thermoelectrics and photovoltaics (SUNTRAP). in AIP Conference Proceedings. 2016. AIP Publishing.
  • PhD Thesis (Title: Systems Integration of Concentrator Photovoltaics and Thermoelectrics for Enhanced Energy Harvesting) available at: https://orca.cf.ac.uk/111496/1/2018RolleyMHPhD.pdf

[Oct 2015-April 2018] PhD in Engineering, Cardiff University.

Thesis Title: “System Integration of Concentrator Photovoltaics (Solar energy) and Thermoelectrics (Thermal energy) for Enhanced Energy Harvesting.” Supervisors Dr. Tracy Sweet and Prof. Gao Min.

Produced a novel “first of its kind” concentrator-photovoltaic, thermoelectric hybrid device for real-world experimental testing and scientific evaluation of the underlying physics, principles, benefits and trade-offs. Key experiences include cleanroom experience working with bare semiconductor material (wire bonding, advanced assembly with epoxy methods, and encapsulation). Honed simulation skills using COMSOL and MATLAB modelling. Advanced electronic EDA and CAD skills with Altium to produce bespoke prototype solar module arrays, and mechanical design and build of large aluminium test apparatus. Experience creating fully-automated test hardware and all-in-one solutions from scope to post-processed MATLAB output.

[May 2018] MSc Antennas and Propagation, University of Surrey.

Included course topics such as phased arrays, antenna design, 5G and MIMO arrays, reflection and free space propagation principles, atmospheric transmission and circuit design and simulation (CST).

[Oct 2012 – June 2015] (Hons) BEng in Integrated Engineering; Dual-honours electrical and electronic engineering (EEE), and Mechanical Engineering (ME) degrees, Cardiff University

Winner of two prestigious scholarships: Ford Blue Oval scholarship, Thrive Challenge Scholarship.

[Since September 2018] Chartered engineer (CEng) with the IMechE

[April 2025] Cambridge English Language Teaching for Adults (CELTA) 

  1. Applied Machine Learning in R
  2. Bayesian Machine Learning: A/B Testing
  3. Building Deep Learning Applications with Keras 2.0
  4. Building and Deploying Deep Learning Applications with TensorFlow
  5. CompTIA Security+
  6. Complete Guide to TensorFlow for Deep Learning with Python
  7. Applied Machine Learning in R (duplicate)
  8. Intel® AI Academy For Students: MACHINE LEARNING
  9. Intel® AI Academy For Students: DEEP LEARNING
  10. Intel® AI Academy For Students: TENSORFLOW
  11. Data Analysis with Python and Pandas
  12. Data Visualization with Python and Matplotlib
  13. Fundamentals of MySQL
  14. Python Programming for Beginners
  15. 3D Game Engine Design and Programming using C# and XNA 3.0
  16. Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP)
  17. Agile Scrum Master Certification
  18. Integrated ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001
  19. Six Sigma Black Belt
  20. Root Cause Analysis and the 8D Corrective Process
  21. Statistical Process Control (SPC)
  22. Total Quality Management (TQM)
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