Profile

I grew up in Glasgow and have thankfully retained the accent. We moved to the north east 4 years ago and since then it has become home, especially after our son Lewis was born in 2020.

I’ve always enjoyed getting outside and exploring, camping, and climbing hills even though I grew up in a big city. When not outside I enjoy watching and playing football although a few injuries make the latter a bit sore! Even though I’m getting older i still enjoy getting out to gigs and festivals when I can.

I collect rocks from around Antarctica and analyse them in the laboratory to try to understand when they were uncovered by the ice sheet as it shrank at the end of the last ice age. To do this we measure tiny amounts of rare chemicals within the rocks. When the ice retreats these chemicals begin to build up in the rocks. If we can measure how much is there we can tell how long ago the ice dissappeared. knowing how the ice sheet behaved in the past gives us clues about what will happen to it as the Earth’s climate gets warmer due to global warming.

I am currently building a massive drill that will let us drill though the edge of the ice sheet to collect rock samples from below the ice. These could tell us if the ice sheet has ever been smaller than it is today. I will be taking the drill to Antarctica this year to see if it works.