Research

“All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child.” – Marie Curie

Please check my ORCID and book list.

Or access my publication list by type in this pdf, or by chronological order here.

“Science is a collaborative enterprise, spanning the generations. When it permits us to see the far side of some new horizon, we remember those who prepared the way – seeing for them also.” – Carl Sagan

Summary (with some technical language)

My area of greatest expertise dominantly concerns hot-rock petrology and isotope geochemistry.
In addition, I take a strong interest in the status, condition, inclusive progress and aspirations of the profession of geochemistry so support work and expert advocacy serving community interests.
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Original ideas arising from my work on natural materials in the form of meteorites from Mars and asteroids (angrites and diogenites) – integrating novel and innovative study methods that I and team drive – have advanced understanding for these rocky bodies with important implications for habitable Earth’s origin. Isotopic data for a Martian meteorite group evidenced their derivation from a single volcanic site, traced Mars’ ancient atmospheric chemistry, and gave the first precious metal abundance estimate for Mars’ soil. Varying proportions of primitive stony Solar System materials were hypothesised to be added to the sluggishly mixing insides of melted asteroids during drawn-out growth over 4.51 billion years ago. Plus, my work revealed a small mass percent of similar materials added to Mars’ interior at- or after that time. Yet, my latest findings question these theories and call for new models of Solar System history and ompact-driven planetary growth.

My work on deeply derived rocks constrained Earth’s evolution and provided new ideas for specific roots beneath continents forming in shallow settings where collisional thickening and crustal recycling operated as far back as ~3.5 billion years ago. Crucially, my undergraduate research concerning the plumbing systems to geologically rapid, voluminous flood basalt outpourings that have profound environmental and ecological impacts was broadly important in stimulating development of isenthalpic melt modelling for the open-access alphaMELTS thermodynamic tool.

Contributions also scrutinise the status of the profession and champion underrepresented people. Striving to unite the community in progressing scientific culture, our cooperative development of student and workforce skills underpinning approaches to tackle contemporary environmental and climate challenges, and drive sound fundamental research ± space exploration.  Taken together, the frontier scientific research that I lead delivers original, world first studies addressing geological / geochemical questions that go beyond local and regional scale work to matters of broad importance and inspiring discoveries of lasting, cross-disciplinary significance.