For decades, everyone understood what geology was – a discipline with a long tradition, reasonably clear boundaries, and well defined career opportunities. Now it’s a bit more complicated. The emphasis is on interdisciplinary studies, systems thinking, and a lot more focus on the boundaries of geology rather than its core. That reimagination of geology has been embraced with enthusiasm by Arizona State University in the USA, where geology sits inside the “School of Earth and Space Exploration...
If you take a look at the website of the British Geological Survey, you’ll see that its primary role is the production of geoscience knowledge. No surprise there. But is that enough? Karen Hanhøj, the new director of the BGS, thinks that its mission needs to go further. She argues that geoscience needs to be a more outward looking discipline. It isn’t enough simply to do research - to produce geoscience knowledge. It's also vitally important that we make people aware that geoscientist...
Geoscience unquestionably has a diversity problem. As one person we spoke to said: “We are the whitest of the white”. Now, if you happen to be white then you'll probably acknowledge that this is an issue of concern. But if you’re a Black geoscientist, it's likely that the simple fact of your skin colour is going to be an inescapable and daily preoccupation in your professional life. Few people have spoken about this issue more eloquently, or with more passion than Professor Chris Jackson, of ...
Our guest for this podcast is Scott Tinker, who runs the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas. However these days he’s much more widely known as the driving force behind films like “Switch” and “Switch On” that explore issues around energy access and the energy transition. Scott is passionate about the need for the economy and the environment to - as he puts it - “play well together”, and he sees geoscience as a vital part of that relationship. Scott is a powerful advoc...
There aren’t many geoscientists who have achieved the positions of power and influence enjoyed by Sir Andrew MacKenzie. Currently Chairman of the Board of Shell, he is also head of the UK Research Institute. Prior to these roles, Andrew was Chief Executive of the giant resources company BHP, and before that he held senior leadership roles at BP. As well as his corporate credentials, Andrew had a pretty decent career as a research scientist, specialising in geochemistry and making notabl...