Decadal plan for Geoscience —Committee

The Decadal Plan for Australian Geoscience is being developed by the Academy of Science’s National Committee for Earth Sciences with input from the wider Earth Sciences community. The National Committee for Earth Science includes:

Professor Suzanne O'Reilly - Chair

Professor Suzanne O'Reilly is Professor of Geology and a Macquarie University Distinguished Professor. She is Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (CCFS; www.CCFS.mq.edu.au) and the associated GEMOC National Key Centre. She is concurrently Professor of Earth Sciences at Nanjing University, Guest Professor at China University of Geoscience (Wuhan) and Docteur Honoris Causa from Lyon University, and was Copernicus Visiting Professor at the University of Ferrara in 2013. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Mineralogical Society of America and the Australian Geological Society. Professor O'Reilly has served on a variety of national science and geoscience Research committees including a variety of ARC and ERA (Excellence in Research for Australia) panels and Evaluation Committees, National Priority Committees, Australian Academy of Sciences National Committee for Earth Sciences (NCES) and is a member of the UNCOVER Executive Committee.

Professor O’Reilly’s fields of research include: the integration of geophysical, geochemical, petrological, petrophysical and tectonic data to construct realistic lithospheric structure and evolution models (4-D Lithosphere Mapping) and understand whole-mantle dynamics through time; the geochemistry and evolution of the mantle and deep crust; the geochemistry and origin of basaltic magmas and their geodynamic significance; trace element dispersions, residence sites and mineral partitioning in the mantle; realistic geological interpretations of geophysical datasets; relationships between mantle geochemistry and structure, volcanic activity, tectonic environment and lithosphere-scale controls for the distribution of economic deposits to enhance resource exploration targeting success. She has over 350 peer-reviewed publications with over 21,000 citations (June 2014), and supervised >40 PhD students to graduation.

Dr Andy Barnicoat - Member

Andy Barnicoat is currently Chief of the Community Safety and Earth Monitoring Division with responsibility for GA’s programmes in, geodesy, seismic monitoring, community safety (including the Australian Tsunami Warning Centre) and observatories and laboratories. Prior to assuming this role, Andy was Chief of both the Minerals and natural Hazards Division. Andy joined GA in 2003 leading the Science programme of the Predictive Mineral Discovery CRC after a career in academia and consultancy in the UK. He has research experience in mineral systems, metamorphic petrology, geochemistry and tectonics.

Dr Steve Beresford - Member

Steve Beresford is a global technical specialist in Nickel, Copper, Zinc exploration. He has field experience in 64 countries and has held senior roles in WMC, BHPB, MMG, First Quantum, and as University Professor at the University of Western Australia. Steve also sits on the Geoscience committee for UNCOVER and believes that exploration undercover needs so much more than technology, it requires a different workflow and very different psychology to our past.

Professor Allan Chivas - Member

Professor Allan Chivas is the Foundation Professor of Geosciences at the University of Wollongong School of Earth Sciences. Allan’s main field of research is in quantifying Earth-surface processes using geological, geochemical and biological methods and proxies. This includes terrestrial and marine environments, and utilises deep weathering profiles, evaporites, lake deposits, fluvial and shallow marine sedimentary deposits.

Associate Professor Chris Clark – Member (EMCR)

Whilst primarily a metamorphic geologist, Associate Professor Chris Clarke’s research interests impinge on and use techniques and data from the fields of geochemistry, geochronology, structural geology and tectonics. Chris’s principal research interests are high-T and ultrahigh-T metamorphism; fluid flow in mid-crustal rocks; the P–T–t–d evolution and tectonics of metamorphic belts, and the application of petrology to understanding orogenic evolution; and, secular change and styles of tectonics and metamorphism. Chris is a member of Geological Society of Australia, the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America. He is on the editorial board of Journal of the Geological Society London as the metamorphic subject editor.

Professor Richard Coleman – Member

Dr Richard Coleman is a Professor of Marine Science at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research Collaborations and Infrastructure) in the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) at the University of Tasmania. His research covers the areas of geodesy, physical oceanography and glaciology, focusing on understanding the role of the oceans and cryosphere in the global climate system using observations, theory and modelling.

Professor Kliti Grice – Member

Professor Kliti Grice Grice is an internationally renowned organic geochemist. Kliti’s research over the years has integrated molecular and isotopic information on plant and algal physiology, microbial ecology, food-webs, organic chemistry, petroleum geochemistry and geology with our planet's history. In particular, she has shown how some of the major biological extinction events of the geological past can be traced to factors intrinsic to the Earth system, as opposed to external factors such as asteroid impacts. Analyses of the natural variation in stable isotopes of lipids present in controlled growth experiments from extant plants, algae and grazing organisms carried out by Grice have provided new insights into how these systems function across paleoecological to modern timescales and across a wide range of spatial scales.

Professor Janet Hergt – Member

Professor Janet Hergt is the Deputy Dean of Science at the University of Melbourne. The main focus of her research has been in the application of radiogenic isotope analysis, in combination with other geochemical data, to explore the record of Earth processes preserved in geological materials. Much of this has involved the investigation of igneous rocks and minerals (e.g., continental flood basalts, arc and back-arc magmas, granites, kimberlites, greenstones), but similar techniques have been successfully applied to studies of the regolith, ore deposits and interdisciplinary projects in archaeometry and the biological sciences. Professor Hergt has served or currently serves on a number of Editorial Boards, she was the Head of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne from 2005 to 2013 and served a 7 month term as Dean of the Faculty of Science.

Dr Phil McFadden – Observer

Dr Phil McFadden FAA is an Independent Research Professional. Previously Phil was Chief Scientist at Geoscience Australia. He is a geophysicist with special interests in Paleomagnetism, Geomagnetism and Numerical Analysis. Over the years Phil's research interests have spanned paleomagnetism, electronics, geomagnetism, mathematical statistics (mainly of vector data and of interlinked sequences), deep Earth processes, Earth conductivity, airborne magnetics and radiometrics data analysis, and earthquakes. He has published a large number of papers and has co-authored two books.

Associate Professor Craig O'Neill – Member

Associate Professor Craig O'Neill is the Director of the Planetary Research Centre at Macquarie University, and an Associate Professor in geodynamics and planetary science, in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at Macquarie University. He is a Chief Investigator and board member of the Core to Crust Fluid Systems (CCFS) ARC Centre of Excellence. Craig’s research interests include computational geodynamics, planetary evolution, satellite geophysics, and archeological geophysics.

Dr Tim Rawling – Member

Dr Tim Rawling is the Acting CEO and Managing Director of AuScope Ltd, an NCRIS Capability providing national research infrastructure to support earth and geospatial research in Australia. His recent research has involved the development of regional/crustal-scale 3D and 4D geological models as well as new exploration methodologies involving 3D modeling and finite element simulation. Tim's background is in structural geology and IT and he has previously worked as a consultant exploration geologist, as the manager of the 3D modelling and simulation programs at GeoScience Victoria (DPI), as the MCA funded lecturer at the University of Melbourne, a commercial programmer and as a researcher at Monash University and the University of Arizona.

Associate Professor Anya Reading – Member

Associate Professor Anya Reading is a senior lecturer in geophysics at both the School of Earth Sciences and the Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits (CODES) at the University of Tasmania. Dr Reading spent five years in marine and land-based geophysics with the British Antarctic Survey before she joined the University of Edinburgh as a lecturer in 1998. In 1999 she received a Diploma of Music from the Open University. In 2000 she moved to Australia and was a research fellow at ANU before she joined University of Tasmania as an academic staff member in 2007.

Dr Reading's research interests include computational methods for analysing data from the natural world, seismological techniques, using ambient seismic energy, the tectonic evolution of Australasia and Antarctica, archaeological and other near-surface geophysics.

Dr Jessica Reeves – Member (EMCR)

Dr Jessica Reeves is a lecturer in environmental management at Federation University Australia where she teaches into the areas of sustainability, environmental and climate change and water resource management. Her research involves long-term environmental change and climate variability and more recent human impact on lakes, wetlands and estuaries.

Professor Chris Rizos – Observer

Professor Chris Rizos is Professor of Geodesy and Navigation, School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia. Chris is president of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG), a member of the Executive and Governing Board of the International GNSS Service (IGS), and co-chair of the Multi-GNSS Asia Steering Committee. Chris is a Fellow of the IAG, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Navigation, a Fellow of the U.S. Institute of Navigation, and an honorary professor of Wuhan University, China. In the early 1990s Chris established the Satellite Navigation & Positioning (SNAP) Group at UNSW, Australia’s premier academic navigation research centre. Chris has been researching the technology and applications of GPS and other navigation/positioning systems since 1985, and is an author/co-author of over 600 journal and conference papers.

Dr Bill Shaw – Member

Dr Bill Shaw is the President of the Australian Geoscience Council (AGC). The AGC is the Peak Council of geoscientists in Australia. It represents eight major Australian geoscientific societies with a total membership of over 7000 individuals comprising industry, government and academic professionals in the fields of geology, geophysics, geochemistry, mineral and petroleum exploration, environmental geoscience, hydrogeology and geological hazards.

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