Its hard to imagine a science more exciting than geology. Four and a half billion years of history, just waiting to be discovered! I've been passionate about earth science for more or less the whole of my life and its a great privilege and honour to have turned those childhood interests into a full-time career.

My research mostly deals with key events in the history of life, especially the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems over the past 500 million years. Some of my recent work has dealt with (1) the rise of freshwater ecoystems, (2) the invasion of dryland by reptiles, (3) the rise and fall of the first rainforests, and (4) forest biogeography in the age of the dinosaurs. I'm always looking for new research students and postdocs with similar interests to me, so please free feel to drop me a line if you want to discuss projects, funding or collaborations.

Because I love science, I'm also a passionate communicator. Some grumpy professors (both young and old!) hate teaching but I think that there is an amazing synergy between research and teaching. Similarly, I love promoting science in the media and love to work with radio, TV, and print/online sources. There are some amazing stories to tell - and its through the act of "explaining science" that "creating science" finds its true meaning.

Honours and Awards

Prestigious fellowships held: NERC Advanced Fellow (2008-2013), Humboldt Experienced Fellow (2011-2012), Leverhulme Early Career Fellow (2007-2008), NERC Fellow (2002-2005), and Killam Fellow (2000-2002).

Other prizes: Winston Churchill Fellow (2011), British Science Association Media Fellow (2010), Murchison Prize of the Geological Society for outstanding contributions to geology (2009).