Born and raised in London (UK),  I studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, with a focus on geophysics, geology, and seismology. I moved to the US in 2010 for a year of study at Harvard funded by a scholarship (thanks Herchel Smith!) from Cambridge. I liked the US so much that I decided to stay on for graduate school. I also was a big fan of the charming American woman whom I would later marry. I completed a PhD in geophysics at Columbia University, spending the majority of my time conducting research at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, studying active rifting in Papua New Guinea and the deep structure of the Juan de Fuca spreading centre. I conducted post-doctoral research at Brown University, where I developed a novel methodology for  jointly inverting multiple seismological data types to make detailed images of the upper mantle across the northwest to north-central US. I now work mostly in the oceans, leading research cruises to understand the oceanic tectonic plates. I recently won an NSF Early CAREER award, which will support ambitious new experiments to understand the mid-ocean ridges.

At UC Santa Barbara, I teach undergrad and graduate courses and supervise a wide-ranging research program with lots of opportunities for new faces! Beyond research, I am passionate about undergraduate education and equity at all levels of the University; within our department, I serve as a Senior Thesis chair, Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee chair, Undocumented Student Scholarship chair, and a geophysics undergrad mentor. Outside of work, I spend my time hiking (every hike is a field trip!), running, and bemoaning the ineptitude of Manchester United in the post-Fergie years.

Professional appointments

Associate Professor, UC Santa Barbara (2022 - present)

Assistant Professor,  UC Santa Barbara  (2016 - 2022)

Postdoctoral Research Associate,   Brown University  (2016 - 2017)

Graduate Research Fellow, LDEO Columbia University  (2011 - 2016)

Education

PhD,   Columbia University ,  2016

MPhil, Columbia University,  2014

MSci, University of Cambridge (UK),  2010

BA (Hons), University of Cambridge (UK),  2010