Eric Ronald Priest FRSE FRS (born 7 November 1943) is Emeritus Professor at St Andrews University, where he previously held the Gregory Chair of Mathematics and a Bishop Wardlaw Professorship.
Priest is a recognised authority in solar magnetohydrodynamics (or MHD for short), the study of the subtle, and often nonlinear, interaction between the Sun's magnetic field and its plasma interior or atmosphere, treated as a continuous medium.
This is done using mathematical modelling techniques and observational data from satellites such as SoHO, Yohkoh and TRACE, or ground-based observatories such as Kitt Peak and Big Bear.
As an applied mathematician, his research interests involve constructing mathematical models for the subtle and complex ways in which magnetic fields interact with plasmas in the atmosphere of the Sun and in more exotic cosmic objects.
He is active in the local Anglican church and enjoys hill-walking, bridge, singing in a couple of choirs and spending time with his wife Clare and four children.