About Me
I am a geologist interested in the sustainability and security of the supply of critical raw materials, i.e., the rocks and minerals from which we get the chemical elements needed for the energy transition. My research focus is on rare earth elements (REE, e.g. neodymium), cobalt, lithium and indium. I study their distribution in the Earth, and the processes that form economic mineral deposits from which they can be extracted.
I have a background in igneous petrology, geochemistry, tectonics and structural geology, and have held academic positions in Plymouth (United Kingdom), Neuchâtel (Switzerland), Perth (Australia) and Leicester (UK). I have a doctorate from Utrecht University (The Netherlands).
I also have a keen interest in public engagement. A recent example of an outreach video that I was involved with about the elemental composition of a smartphone is here (youtube)
Expertise
Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), Department of Applied Earth Sciences (AES)Publications
UT Research Information System
Google Scholar Link
Courses Academic Year 2023/2024
Courses Academic Year 2022/2023
In the press
- Extensive reporting and interviews in British national newspapers (e.g., Guardian, Times, The Independent, Daily Mail) about the 'french' roots of southwest England established in my study published in Nature Communications; also radio interviews (e.g., Radio Scotland) (2018)
- TV item about 'smartphone in blender experiment' on BBC Spotlight; videos also on websites of BBC Science, Bloomberg TicToc and Fox News and many other media outlets in UK, France, Germany, US, India, China, etc. (2019).
- TV item about deep sea mining for polymetallic nodules on BBC Spotlight (2016).
- Occurred in TV item about restart of mining in Devon and Cornwall on BBC Spotlight (2019).
Contact Details
Visiting Address
University of Twente
Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation
Langezijds
(building no. 19), room 1424
Hallenweg 8
7522NH Enschede
The Netherlands
Mailing Address
University of Twente
Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation
Langezijds
1424
P.O. Box 217
7500 AE Enschede
The Netherlands