Editing Matthew Falder (section)

== Early life and career ==
Matthew Alexander Falder was born in Manchester and grew up in Knutsford. He attended Kings School in Macclesfield, Cheshire, where it was reported that he had "excelled" and in 2007 was one of only 4% of participants awarded gold in the UK Senior Mathematics Challenge.

After school he attended Clare College of the University of Cambridge, specialising in seismic oceanography and earning master's and doctoral degrees. At the time of his arrest, he was working as a post-doctoral researcher and lecturer in geophysics at the University of Birmingham. Falder was well-liked in his peer group, and was described as being extroverted, funny and larger than life.