ICRAG - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Exploration - Vale Base Metals
- Director of Exploration at Vase Base Metals
Ms. Talbot is the Director of Exploration at Vase Base Metals and has more than 27 years of international experience in all stages of mineral exploration on surface and underground. Ciara is also the Director of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). Prior to her VP position, she held the role of Director, Exploration & New Business Development at Lundin. Ciara joined Lundin Mining as a Senior Exploration Geologist in 2005 working on Lundin's Irish exploration licences. She also acted as a Director on the board of several former Lundin companies in Ireland. Before joining Lundin Mining, Ms. Talbot acquired over 10 years of experience in the industry including as an exploration geologist with Boliden, Aurum Exploration, and Teck Resources. She also worked for the Geological Survey of Ireland as a geologist. Ciara holds a BSc in Applied Geology from Staffordshire University in England.
Mr McCarthy is the National Quarry and Pits Manager at Roadstone Ltd., the leading manufacturer and supplier of building materials in Ireland. Having worked with Roadstone for almost 30 years, Diarmuid's experience spans many roles including Quality and Technical Manager, Pits and Quarries Technical Manager, Quality Controller, and Site Engineer. Mr McCarthy is also a registered trainer for Engineers Ireland's General Concrete Advice and has worked as a site engineer for Waterford County Council on the N25 realignment project. He studied Civil Engineering at Dundalk IT, before going on to study Management and Industrial Engineering at the University of Nottingham.
Aoife is the iCRAG Centre Manager and is responsible for all management and functions of the Centre. She leads the Operations Team and develops and implements the iCRAG strategy
Aoife graduated with a BSc Hons in Earth Science from the University of Galway in 2006 after which she completed a PhD in carbonatites, kimberlites and lamprophyres also at the University of Galway. Following this, she worked as an exploration geologist for 4.5 years on the Songwe Hill Carbonatite Project with Rare Earth Element (REE) exploration company, Mkango Resources, in southern Malawi, Africa. She then took up the role of Geodata Product Manager at International Geoscience Services (IGS) Ltd., based at the British Geological Survey (BGS) in Nottingham, where she oversaw the company's new mineral prospectivity software. In 2016 Aoife moved to the Geological Survey Ireland (GSI) where she managed, Tellus, the GSI's national ground and airborne data acquisition programme.
My central research objective is to assess past changes in large-scale ocean-atmosphere climate dynamics during past warm climates to improve our understanding of future climate change. Specifically, I focus on the response of the North Atlantic Ocean and its role in controlling, propagating, and amplifying gradual climate forcings into abrupt climate change. I'm particularly interested in determining exactly how changes in atmospheric circulation patterns control the strength (temperature, salinity) of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) on multidecadal to millennial timescales during the Quaternary.
Job Titles:
- Education, Public Engagement and Communications Manager
Fergus manages all of iCRAG's communications, education and public engagement activities. He holds a PhD in environmental science from University College Cork. Alongside his research experience, Fergus also has a wide range of experience in science communication, through winning FameLab International in 2013, delivering workshops and conference talks on science communication around Europe, and is currently a presenter on "The Science Squad/10 Things to Know About" on RTE1 television. As part of his role, Fergus works closely with the Public Perception and Understanding of geoscience platform in iCRAG.
Job Titles:
- Co - Principal Investigator
Dr Shane Tyrrell is a Co-Principal Investigator leading research in iCRAG's Energy Transition TPs of the Earth Resources Challenge. Working closely with the Geochemistry platform within the hub, his research is focussed in the area of sedimentary provenance, particularly 1) developing and testing new proxies for tracking sediment from "source to sink"; and 2) applying these techniques to solving economically relevant geological problems (e.g. links between sand sourcing, reservoir sandstone distribution and quality). Shane has been involved in diverse projects, from investigating large continental-scale rivers, through typing sources of ice rafted debris offshore Antarctica, to palaeodrainage reconstruction for basins offshore Ireland.
Dr Meehan has over 20 years of leadership experience across a range of public and private research based organisations. In 2017, Dr Meehan was appointed CEO at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), the only such institute in Ireland, which since its inception has focused on fundamental frontier & discovery research. She is an acknowledged leader in advancing gender equality and diversity policies, in particular as Director of the Irish Research Council, and was designated ScienceEurope's first Gender and Diversity Champion (2016-2017). Currently, she is a member of the Advisory Committee to the EU supported initiative GenderSmart. Honoured in 2017 to be elected as a member of the Royal Irish Academy, Dr Meehan was further honoured with her election to its Council the following year. In addition to committee memberships nationally, by virtue of her role at a European level, she is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board to Biocenter Finland and served as an elected board m
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of the Society of Economic Geologists
Jennifer graduated with a BSc Hons in Chemistry from UCD in 1998 after which she completed a PhD in Bioelectrochemistry also in UCD. Following postdoctoral research in both UCD and DCU she took up the role of Project Manager of an SFI Strategic Research Cluster, the Applied Neurotherapeutics Research Group during which time she completed her MBA (2006) in the UCD Smurfit School of Business. Following this she made the move to Berand Neuropharmacology as CEO. Before joining iCRAG Jennifer worked as a life sciences consultant and also developed and managed the EU Research Office at UCD. In 2023 Dr. Craig took up the role of Executive Director of the Society of Economic Geologists .
Job Titles:
- Science Director With the British Geological Survey
Dr Cowan is the Science Director with the British Geological Survey (BGS) and Director at its Belfast office, the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland (GSNI). Dr Cowan is also a member of the Royal Irish Academy's Geosciences and Geographical Sciences Committee, where she spearheaded the introduction of an MLA-Geoscientist Pairing Scheme in Northern Ireland. Marie is a certified member of the Institute of Directors and a professional geologist with the Institute of Geologists of Ireland. She is also a member of the NI Assembly All Party Group for Science and Technology and the NI Learned Societies and Professional Bodies Forum. Dr Cowan has been a cornerstone in the £6M Tellus and £4.5M Tellus Border soil geochemistry and geophysical mapping projects in NI and Ireland; the communications campaigns of which were awarded five industry awards from Chartered Institute of Public Relations and Public Relations Institute of Ireland.
Dr Kelly has extensive experience of working in both the private and public sectors. She has served as Director General of the Environmental Protection Agency from 2002 to 2011 and as Chairperson of An Bord Pleanála between 2011 and 2018. She is a well-respected leader with experience in strategy development, change management and corporate governance, as well as chairing boards and high level committees. In her time in the EPA she has been credited with highlighting the issues around climate change and with transforming the Agency from a relatively bureaucratic and inward facing organisation to a more public facing organisation serving the needs of its many stakeholders and the environment. In An Bord Pleanála, aside from assessment and decisions on planning files, she undertook a transformational project moving the organisation from an entirely paper-based system to a digitally enabled organisation. Mary holds a BA (Mod) and a PhD in Chemistry from Trinity College Dublin and an MBA f
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Independent Groundwater Consultant
Dr Kresic is an independent groundwater consultant with experience in hydrogeology. He has extensive international experience, including work on major contaminant hydrogeology and water resources projects in the United States, Eastern Europe, Middle East, North Africa, and South America. He was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at the USGS in Reston, Virginia, and the George Washington University, Washington, D.C., where he conducted novel research on modelling groundwater flow and contaminant fate and transport in fractured rock and karst aquifers. Neven is a founding member of the Ground Water Modelling Interest Group sponsored by the National Ground Water Association, and former co-chair of the Karst Commission of the International Association of Hydrogeologists. He is past Vice President for International Affairs of the American Institute of Hydrology and was Vice-chair of the Groundwater Management and Remediation Specialty Group of the International Water Association. Neven served as As
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive and Co - Founder of Causeway Geothermal
- Committee Deputy Chair
Dr McCormack is the Chief Executive and co-founder of Causeway Geothermal - an Irish company that aims to provide locally sourced, clean, 24/7 heat for industrial and commercial customers from sustainable geothermal energy. Dr McCormack has over 20 years technical, research, and executive experience in the resource sector around the world. Latterly he led exploration, commercial and innovation globally for BHP's petroleum division. Dr McCormack is also the Chair of the Geothermal Association of Ireland, is on the board of Renewable Energy Ireland and is on the Geothermal Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland. He holds BA (mod) Geology and a Ph.D. in geology from Trinity College Dublin.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer and Co - Founder of Satarla
Dr Gordon is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Satarla. She has worked internationally in a number of fields including risk and assurance, safety, sustainability, R&D, business divestment, mine and exploration geology. In 2014, Sarah left Anglo American plc (as Head of Assurance - Safety & Sustainable Development (S&SD), Africa, and Risk Analysis Manager - S&SD Global) to co-found the risk consultancy and training organisation Satarla. To date, Satarla has worked with mining, healthcare, research & development, energy, agricultural, construction, hospitality, software, insurance, events, and financial companies, together with charities, governments, and Tech Startups. Sarah is an Honorary Lecturer at Imperial College London and an accredited Institute of Risk Management public and in-house course designer and trainer. She is also a Trustee of the Geological Society London as well as Geology for Global Development, and was voted as one of the 100 most inspirational women in
Dr Stuart McCracken has over 20 years of experience in global exploration including over 5 years of corporate mining industry experience in London. His specialties include exploration, project management, exploration risk, base-metals, geoscience R&D, carbonate sedimentology and diagenesis, and geometallurgy. Currently, he is VP of Exploration and Geoscience at Teck Resources, having previously held roles at Anglo American, Western Metals, and Pasminco Exploration. Stuart holds a PhD in Geology from the University of Western Australia and a BSc in Biology and Geology from Macquarie University.
Job Titles:
- Project Managing Director at PIPCO Research Studies Group
- Project Managing Director PIPCO Research Studies Group
Joe Mongan is Project Managing Director at PIPCO Research Studies Group. The company has been providing technical project management and consultancy services in the global energy and mineral resources sectors for almost 25 years. PIPCO's recent focus is on clean energy and transfer of skills from more traditional to cleaner and renewable resources. In 2022, he led the EU GeoEnergy-2 deep geothermal meta-cluster project market visits to Canada, Kenya, and Costa Rica on behalf of the Geoscience Ireland cluster. Prior to this, he spent 27 years at Tullow where he headed up the Geophysical Technology & Operations teams and represented Tullow on several industry collaborative groups, including a role as Chairman of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) Global Affairs Committee in 2015. He sat on the iCRAG Governance Committee for Phase 1 and was Executive Director of Tullow Oil Ltd from 2017-2020 prior to his current role with PIPCO, as Project Managing Director.
Job Titles:
- Director of Geological Survey Ireland
Mr Verbruggen is the Director of Geological Survey Ireland (GSI). He has been with GSI since 2000, working in Minerals and then Information Management where he developed GSI's free digital data online policy. From 2006 to 2013 he managed INFOMAR (Integrated Mapping for Sustainable Development of Irelands Marine Resource), the Irish national marine mapping programme run in conjunction with the Marine Institute, which is acknowledged as a global exemplar programme. In 2013, he became Director of the GSI and was elected President of EuroGeoSurveys, the organisation which represents all European Geological Surveys, from 2015-2016. Prior to the GSI, Mr Verbruggen worked for 15 years in the international exploration industry, principally in the minerals sector in Ireland, Canada, Australia, Mexico and Africa. He holds a BSc in Geology and MSc in Petroleum Geology from University College Dublin. He is a long term Professional Member of the Institute of Geologists of Ireland (P.Geo) and the Eu
Ms. Fleming is a chartered engineering geologist and the global Applied Geology Skills Network Lead at Arup. She uses her background in geology, geophysics and geotechnics to develop efficient and effective solutions for a wide variety of ground conditions and provides expert advice on the environmental considerations and opportunities for sustainable development associated with soils and geology. Ms. Fleming serves on the steering committee of Geoscience Ireland, is Chair of the Registration Authority of the European Federation of Geologists and was Past President of the Institute of Geologists of Ireland (2015-2017). She is the industry advisor on several academic engineering geology research projects and a visiting lecturer in Engineering Geology at a number of institutions. She is passionate about promoting the role of geoscience in society and is a trustee of Geology for Global Development.
Mr Collins is the Assistant Secretary leading the Energy function at the Department of Environment, Climate, and Communications. He is responsible for policy across energy regulations, renewable energy, energy decarbonisation, energy efficiency, and energy security, with the aim of ensuring a secure, competitive, and sustainable energy system. Matthew joined the Department in 2016, having worked previously in the Departments of Health, Environment and Local Government, Foreign Affairs, Finance, as well as in the Communications Division and Natural Resources and Waste Policy function of the Department. Mr Collins served as Chair of iCRAG's Phase 1 Governance Committee for over five years providing expert guidance to ensure the strategic success of the Centre.
Job Titles:
- Minister Counsellor: Science and Innovation at the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa
Ms Mabuza has eighteen and half years of progressive experience in the Public Sector engaging and mediating with international agencies in an effort to increasing bilateral and science, technology and innovation investments towards the South African Science System. She has been dealing with a wide range of policy issues related to science and innovation, as well as specific innovative capacity development initiatives.
She is currently serving as a Minister Counsellor: Science and Innovation at the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa in Brussels where she is seconded by the Department of Science and Innovation. She is responsible for the management and strengthening the South Africa Science, Technology and Innovation Collaboration between South Africa and International partners like the European Union (EU). Previously, she was the Chief of Staff (Head of Cabinet) to the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation. She also served as a Minister Counsellor in Tokyo.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Discovery With GeologicAI
Patrick has over 25 years of experience in international mineral exploration and the mining industry and has a track record of value creation through exploration and discovery in multiple jurisdictions and across a range of commodities. He is a recognized and innovative technical expert on a range of ore deposit types with a passion for geoscience, mineral exploration, and mentoring the next generation of geoscientists.
Patrick is Senior Vice President, Discovery with GeologicAI, an industry-leading company pioneering cutting-edge technologies to improve accuracy, speed, and efficiency in mining and mineral exploration. Previously he was Senior Vice President, Exploration and Geoscience with Copper Mountain Mining where he led the team that made the Ingerelle Deep discovery. Prior to that he was Vice President, Exploration with KoBold Metals, where he led an integrated team of geoscientists and data scientists in developing innovative data-science and machine learning tools for explor
Job Titles:
- Co - Principal Investigator
Prof. Wheeler is co-lead of iCRAG's Geomarine Environment research. Research activities include marine geology with an emphasis on benthic boundary layer sedimentary processes, offshore Quaternary geology and seabed mapping (SSS, MBES, ROVs). Prof. Wheeler has a special focus on the geology of deep-water coral carbonate mounds and continental margins (slides, canyons, contourites) as well as shelf-sea sediment transport processes and offshore.
Job Titles:
- Co - Principal Investigator
Prof. Chris Bean leads iCRAG's geophysics research. His research area covers various aspects of seismology, with a focus on volcano processes and imagery in highly heterogeneous structures. Following completion of his PhD at the Dublin Institute for Advanced studies, Chris joined the UCD School of Geological Sciences in 1989. In 1993 he established the Geophysics Group and became coordinator of the BSc (Topical) degree in Geophysical Science in collaboration with the School of Physics.
Since February 2020, Prof. Claudia Mora has served as Dean of world renowned Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas, Austin. For over 13 years, she served the Los Alamos National Laboratory as Group Leader in Earth Systems Observations and subsequently Deputy Division Leader of the Chemistry Division. She also held leadership roles at Los Alamos in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Division and the Nuclear Nonproliferation and Security Program Office. Prior to Los Alamos, she was a faculty member at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and served as department head. A defining factor of distinction is Prof. Mora's leadership of collaborative research at the intersection of geology, soil science, and dendrochronology. Her research has focused on stable isotope proxy records of climate and environment captured in terrestrial archives, including soils and fossil soils, tree rings, and lake sediments. Prof. Mora has been recognized nationally and globally for her exp
Prof. Sanderson is Emeritus Professor within Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton at the University of Southampton. His research focuses on the fundamentals of deformation in the upper crust, based largely on field measurements combined with analytical and numerical modelling. He seeks to apply this research to practical problems in sub-surface engineering, hydrocarbon and water reservoirs, and mineral deposits. Prof. Sanderson is a former Professor of Geophysics at the University of Southampton and HH Read Professor of Geology at Imperial College. He previously served as Chair of the Education Committee of the Geological Society of London. Large parts of his career have been spent working closely with industry.
David Chew is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geology, Trinity College Dublin and iCRAG Deputy Director. He studied geology at University College Dublin, obtaining his B.Sc. in 1996 and his Ph.D. in 2001. From 2003 - 2005 he was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Geneva. He returned to Trinity College Dublin in late 2005 to take up a lectureship. He lectures in the field of structural geology and tectonics, while his research interests involve applying geochronology and thermochronology to a variety of problems in the geosciences. He has projects in the hydrocarbons spoke on the thermal history of Ireland and its offshore basins and in sedimentary provenance analysis.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director of the Climate
Prof. Brodie serves as the Deputy Director of the Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division in the Ecology Department of Berkeley Lab's Earth and Environmental Sciences Area (EESA). He is also Program Domain Lead for Environmental and Biological Systems Sciences and leads the Earth's Microbial Engines grand challenge. At the University of California, Berkeley, Prof. Brodie is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management and he co-directs the Joint Berkeley Initiative in Microbiomes Sciences. He obtained his PhD from University College Dublin in Ireland and joined LBNL following postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley. Prof. Brodie currently serves as the Deputy for Integration for the Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area (SFA) and leads the Microbial Mechanisms component of the Belowground Biogeochemistry (Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Program) SFA. He has published over 160 peer-reviewed manuscripts and holds several patents and award
Job Titles:
- Co - Principal Investigator
Geertje completed her PhD in Environmental Psychology from the University of Groningen (the Netherlands). Before joining UCD in 2014, she was a Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen (UK, 2009 - 2011) and Aarhus University (Denmark, 2011 - 2014). Her research focuses on factors that explain (sustainable) consumer behaviour, including the adoption of new technologies and the public perception of environmental issues and risks. Moreover, I study how people can be encouraged to behave more sustainably, building mainly on psychological and marketing theories.
Job Titles:
- Consultant at PetraScience Consultants Inc
Prof. Thompson is a consultant at PetraScience Consultants Inc, where he consults on exploration, mining, and sustainability. He is also Honorary Professor of Sustainable Resources at the University of Bristol, Technical and Business Adviser at KoBold Metals, and a board member at MineSense Technologies. Previously, he has been the Wold Professor of Environmental Balance for Human Sustainability at Cornell University. He has worked in the mining industry and related research for over 35 years, serving as Chief Geoscientist and Vice President of Technology and Development for Teck Resources, and Director of the Mineral Deposit Research Unit at the University of British Columbia. Prof. Thompson has extensive experience in diverse leadership roles in many organisations, and has served as Chair on numerous boards including Resources for Future Generations (2018), Genome BC, Geoscience BC, and the Canada Mining Innovation Council. He has been a member of two councils for the World Economic
Job Titles:
- Co - Principal Investigator
Prof. Walsh is a Co-Principal Investigator with a research focus on the geometry and growth of faults, and on the impacts of faults and fractures on fluid flow. John is Professor of Structural Geology at UCD and co-director of the Fault Analysis Group in the School of Earth Sciences. He has published numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals, served on the editorial boards of five journals, including Geology and the Journal of Structural Geology, and acted as distinguished lecturer for the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG). In 2015 John became the first Irish Honorary Fellow of the Geological Society of London.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Hydrogeology
Prof. Singha is a Professor of Hydrogeology in the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, where she is also Associate Dean of Earth and Society Programs. Previously she worked at the United States Geological Survey branch of Geophysics and as Assistant and then Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Pennsylvania State University. She served as Chair of the American Geophysical Union's Hydrogeophysics Technical Committee from 2009 to 2012 and as Associate Director of the Hydrologic Science and Engineering Program from 2014 to 2016. She holds a PhD in hydrogeology from Stanford University. Her research interests include fluid flow and contaminant transport in porous media, integration of hydrologic and geophysical techniques, mathematical simulation, and imagine moisture dynamics in desert ecosystems.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Subsurface Engineering at TU Delft
Prof. Gavin is a Professor of Subsurface Engineering at TU Delft. He graduated from Queens University Belfast before obtaining a PhD from Trinity College Dublin in 1998. His research interests include Offshore Foundations, the effect of climate change on critical infrastructure, soil- structure interactions, and risk in geotechnical engineering. He has researched new foundation concepts and improving design codes. As an example in the PISA project (with the University of Oxford and Imperial College) large-scale field tests and numerical analyses were performed to develop a new design method for offshore foundations. He has coordinated a number of European Union collaborative projects investigating the effect of climate change on transport infrastructure. He is currently working closely with the Port of Rotterdam and Rijkswaterstaat on developing new national design codes. He is working with industry to develop environmentally friendly hammers for the offshore industry and is continuing
Job Titles:
- Co - Principal Investigator
Prof. Gill is lead of iCRAG's Connected Waters research. His research interests involve studying the fate and transport of both air and water-borne pollutants in the natural and built environment, as well as the development of passive treatment processes. Much of the work involves extensive field studies which are then used to develop mathematical models to gain further insight into the processes. Prior to joining at Trinity College in 1999, he spent several years working in the UK water industry on the design of water and wastewater treatment processes for urban populations.
Job Titles:
- Director of the Payne Institute
Prof. Bazilian is the Director of the Payne Institute and a Professor of Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines. He has over two decades of experience in the energy sector and is regarded as a leading expert in international affairs, policy and investment. He is a member of the US Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the Irish Climate Change Advisory Council. Prior to his current role, he was lead energy specialist at the World Bank, Principal Advisor to the Irish Energy Minister, and was Deputy CEO of the Irish National Energy Agency. Prof. Bazilian holds two master's degrees and a PhD in areas related to energy systems and markets, and has been a Fulbright Fellow. He holds, or has held, several academic affiliations including at Columbia University, Cambridge University, the Royal Institute of Technology of Sweden, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. He is on the editorial boards of Environm
Job Titles:
- Director
- Co - Principal Investigator
Murray W. Hitzman is Director of iCRAG and a Science Foundation Ireland Research Professor. Murray has B.A. degrees in geology and anthropology from Dartmouth College (1976), an M.S. in geology from University of Washington (1978), and a Ph.D. in geology from Stanford University (1983). He worked in the petroleum and minerals industries from 1976 to 1993 primarily doing mineral exploration worldwide and was largely responsible for Chevron Corporationʼs Lisheen Zn- Pb-Ag deposit discovery in Ireland (1990). Dr. Hitzman served in Washington, D.C. as a policy analyst in both the U.S. Senate for Senator Joseph Lieberman (1993-94) and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (1994-96). In 1996 he was named the Fogarty Professor in Economic Geology at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and served as head of the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering from 2002-07.
Prof. Gawthorpe holds a PhD from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Leeds and joined the department of Earth Science at the University of Bergen in 2010 as Professor of Petroleum Geoscience. Previously a Professor of Sedimentology and Tectonics at the University of Manchester, Prof. Gawthorpe led the Basin Studies and Petroleum Geoscience Group. Prof. Gawthorpe's research is wide-ranging, integrating geomorphology, sedimentology, stratigraphy and tectonics to study tectonically-active landscapes and sedimentary basin evolution. One of his major research areas is sedimentation and tectonics in rift basins, including the role of fault growth and linkage in controlling rift topography and syn-rift stratigraphy. His research also tackles sequence stratigraphic concepts. These research areas utilize both outcrop and subsurface data and are important for reservoir characterization and the development of exploration concepts. Prof. Gawthorpe is a Fellow of the Geological So
Prof. Dietz is a human ecologist and environmental sociologist. His research focuses on the drivers of environmental change and human well-being, on the social psychology of environmental decision making and on the interplay between science and values in decision making. He was Founding Director of the Environmental Science and Policy Programme at Michigan State University (MSU), where he remains active in the Animal Studies Program and at the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability. Prof. Dietz has served as Chair of the U.S. National Research Council Committee on Human Dimensions of Global Change and as Vice-chair of the Committee on Advancing the Science of Climate Change. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has been awarded the Sustainability Science Award from the Ecological Society of America. In 2017, he delivered the Mitchell Lecture on Sustainability at the University of Maine and was named University Distinguished Professor
Job Titles:
- Professor of Paleoceanography at the Centre for Marine Environmental Sciences
Prof. Pälike is Professor of Paleoceanography at the Centre for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM). His research combines a fundamental mathematical understanding of orbital mechanics and its application to forcing of climate. Since early in his career, he has combined this approach with the active design of drilling expeditions to gather and interpret marine geological data in a paleoclimatic context. Previously, he was a Professor in the School of Ocean and Earth Sciences at the University of Southampton. Prof. Pälike has also taken up high-level responsibilities in the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) scientific strategy by co-chairing the Science Evaluation Panel, contributing to the JOIDES Resolution Facility Board, promoting the high-level scientific aims of ocean drilling through his deep involvement in the IODP New Ventures in Exploring Scientific Targets (INVEST) Renewal Meeting, and co-designing the current science plan for IODP for 2013- 2023. Prof. Pälike is
Professor Sarah A. Gleeson is Director of iCRAG, Research Ireland Professor at University College Dublin, and Full Professor in Sustainability Geoscience at the UCD School of Earth Sciences. Sarah has built globally recognised research programmes in Economic Geology, has published 104 peer reviewed journal and conference papers, and has won several prestigious awards. This includes the Lindgren Award from the Society of Economic Geologists and several prominent lecture tours (e.g., Society of Economic Geologists' Thayer Lindsley Travelling Lecturer in 2019, Distinguished Lecturer of the European Association of Geochemistry 2024-2025). In 2023, Prof. Gleeson was elected to the membership of Academia Europaea, an organisation which promotes European research, advises governments and international organisations in scientific matters. Throughout her career the main focus of her research has been on the genesis and detection of base metal mineral deposits in sedimentary basins. She has carr