I had a lots of problems in getting matlab to work especially due to JVM (Java virtual machine) and Native Posix Thread Library, or NPTL, in RHN 9.0.
In case you are having similar problems like the splash screen starts but matlab does not start and displays JVM warnings on the shell, just first try writing this command on the shell
if using c shell
write on the prompt
setenv LD_ASSUME_KERNEL=2.2.5

or if using [B]bash{/B]
write
export LD_ASSUME_KERNEL=2.2.5

Now try running matlab.. if it works then add this parameter to your .profile or .bash_profile.

Hope this helps someone who is having similar problems..

U can also check if matlab itself work by first trying
matlab -nodesktop
OR
matlab -nojvm

Vijlovely