Queensland University of Technology

Faculty Member, Faculty of Science and Technology

Vice Chancellors Research Fellow

Biogeoscience

About

My research interest and passion is in volcanism and the various ways volcanic activity has had an impact on Earth, its evolution, environment and atmosphere. This has taken me to all parts of the globe to see and work in beautiful places for both pure and applied research projects. Two particular areas of research focus are: 1) the largest igneous events in Earth history (known as Large Igneous Provinces), which have been linked to major biological extinctions and environmental/climatic change in Earth’s history as well as fundamental to major tectonic events such as the breakup of continents and the generation of mineral, and energy/hydrocarbon resources; and 2) Volcanic-Biotic Interactions, in particular floating masses of pumice (pumice rafts) produced by explosive volcanic eruptions – these have been important in dispersing a wide variety of marine biota over long distances (1,000’s km) and are potentially vital to contributing to the long-term resilience of coral reefs in our region.