atthew Pontefract, who has very kindly accepted an invitation to join the Victorian Web's Foundation Board, is a technology consultant based in Spain having recently moved there from his native England. Passionate about science, the history of science and, in particular, astronomy from an early age, being an astrophysicist was his singular objective as a child. He gained his PhD in the subject from University College London and went on to do post doctoral work at Imperial College London before leaving academia and embarking on an ad-hoc career developing software and systems for investment and retail banks, ecommerce and, for a while, a visual effects house in Soho, London. He has continued to work in technology, supporting startups and their teams.
Matthew's connection to the Victorian Web starts with the Board's treasurer, Noah Landow. They met and became firm friends in London in the mid 90s whilst studying and sharing a flat together. Whilst working on a lot of very contemporary technology today, Matthew deeply respects and enjoys the Victorian Web's rigorous approach to editorial quality and the use of the Web and hyperlinks without clutter and fuss. These concepts that pre-date the modern world wide web, but which were brilliantly adopted and developed into what we have today by Tim Berners-Lee, are very powerful and Matthew is keen to help the site grow whilst retaining its pure approach to delivering valuable, well referenced long-form content. He regularly cites Tim Berners-Lee's out of print book Weaving the Web as a favourite!
Other interests include exploring wilder parts of the world - he has travelled extensively off-road in remote desert Australia and is a keen, occasionally professional, sailor. He runs (though not particularly fast), plays guitar (though not particularly well) and always has a few projects on the go that will give great pleasure and yet almost certainly never be completed!
Created 7 May 2024