Christopher Aiden-Lee Jackson (born 1977) is a British geoscientist, science communicator and Director of Sustainable Geoscience at

Jacobs Engineering Group Jacobs Solutions Inc. is an American international technical professional services firm. The company provides engineering, technical, professional and construction services, as well as scientific and specialty consulting for a broad range of cli ...

. He was previously Professor of Sustainable Geoscience at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

, and before that held the Equinor Chair of Basin Analysis at Imperial College, London. He is known for his work in

geoscience Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spher ...

, especially in the use of 3D seismic data to understand dynamic processes in

sedimentary basin Sedimentary basins are region-scale depressions of the Earth's crust where subsidence has occurred and a thick sequence of sediments have accumulated to form a large three-dimensional body of sedimentary rock. They form when long-term subsidence ...

Education

Christopher Jackson was born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

in the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level, ITL for Statistics, statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area tradi ...

. He attended Wilmorton Primary School and Noel Baker Community school. Jackson completed a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

Geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

at the

in 1998. He stayed on at the University of Manchester to undertake a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper ''Piled Higher and Deeper'' (also known as ''PhD Comics''), is a newsp ...

in the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of sedimentary basins with Rob Gawthorpe, completing in 2002.

Research and career

Jackson's research focuses on geodynamic, structural, and stratigraphic evolution of sedimentary basins. He has been described by the Geological Society of London as the "leading and most productive interpreter of three-dimensional seismic reflection data of his generation." After completing his PhD in 2002, he was an exploration research geologist in the

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around the world ...

research centre,

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

. In 2004, Jackson joined

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a ...

as a lecturer in Basin Analysis in the Department of

Earth Science Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spher ...

and Engineering, where he was appointed

Statoil Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. ...

Professor of Basin Analysis in 2015. In 2014, he joined the Applied Geodynamics Laboratory at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

as a visiting scientist. Between 2015 and 2016 he was a Visiting Lecturer in Petroleum Science at the

University of Namibia The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, as well as the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the followi ...

. He was promoted to

Equinor Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. ...

Professor of Basin Analysis at Imperial College in 2018. In 2019, he was the H. Burr Steinbach Visiting Scholar at the

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it ...

. Part of the

open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre o ...

movement within academia, Jackson founde
EarthArxiv
a free

preprint In academic publishing, a preprint is a version of a scholarly or scientific paper that precedes formal peer review and publication in a peer-reviewed scholarly or scientific journal. The preprint may be available, often as a non-typeset version ...

service for the earth sciences. In a 2017 interview with the ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'' newspaper, Jackson stated that he knew of "no other black, full-time, Earth science academic in the UK – or in fact, Europe or the US." Jackson is on the editorial board of the

Journal of Petroleum Geology The ''Journal of Petroleum Geology'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering the geology of petroleum and natural gas. It was established in 1978 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of Scientific Press Ltd. The editor-in ...

. He is a Fellow of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

. Jackson delivered the closing of the 2015

lecture series, "Terra Infirma: What has salt tectonics ever done for us?" In 2020 he was appointed to the Chair in Sustainable Geoscience at the

, taking up the post in early 2021. In March 2022, Jackson announced on Twitter that he was leaving the University of Manchester to work for the scientific consulting firm

. According to an interview with ''Nature'', Jackson "received what was, in his opinion, a racially insensitive e-mail that constituted harassment and alluded to using social media to police staff opinions, which, he says, was the last straw". He filed a formal complaint with the university.

Broadcasting

Jackson is a popular science communicator, and has delivered scientific talks at several major festivals.

Television

In 2017 Jackson joined a team of scientists and adventurers, including Xand Van Tulleken, to take part in an expedition to volcanoes. The two-part

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

documentary ''Expedition Volcano'' involved the scientists studying

Nyiragongo Mount Nyiragongo ( ) is an active stratovolcano with an elevation of in the Virunga Mountains associated with the Albertine Rift. It is located inside Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, about north of the town of ...

and Nyamulagira, two of the world's most dangerous volcanoes in the Congo. In 2020 Jackson jointly presented the 2020

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825, missing 1939–1942 because of the Second World War. The lectures present sci ...

on British television, thus becoming the first black scientist to do so. After it was announced that he was to be one of the lecturers, Jackson was the subject of racist abuse online, including being sent a clip on Twitter of a black person being beaten. He also received letters telling him to "go live in the Caribbean” and stating "blacks like you are a total disgrace". Jackson reported the abuse to the police. Additionally, Jackson has appeared on '' The Great British Menu'', and a series of earth science documentaries for

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

Radio and podcasts

He has appeared on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

programmes ''

The Life Scientific ''The Life Scientific'' is a BBC Radio 4 science programme, presented by Professor Jim Al-Khalili , in which each episode is dedicated to the biography and work of one living scientist. The programme consists of an interview between Al-Khalili a ...

'' and '' The Infinite Monkey Cage'', as well as the ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...

'' He has presented his own podcast, ''A Grown Up Guide to Planet Earth,'' which was hosted on

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service) Audible is an American online audiobook and podcast service that allows users to purchase and stream audiobooks and other forms of spoken word content. This content can be purchased individually or unde ...

Awards

* 2021

Coke Medal * 2021

American Association of Petroleum Geologists The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is one of the world's largest professional geological societies with more than 40,000 members across 129 countries as of 2021. The AAPG works to "advance the science of geology, especially as ...

Geoscience in the Media Award * 2021

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitch ...

Honorary Fellow * 2020:

- Chair in Sustainable Geoscience *2020

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cul ...

- President's Award for Excellence in Societal Engagement * 2019: ''

Journal of Sedimentary Research The Society for Sedimentary Geology is an international not-for-profit, scientific society based in Oklahoma. It is commonly referred to by its acronym SEPM, which refers to its former name, the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists. ...

'' - Outstanding Paper Award * 2019:

- GEOLOGY Journal, Exceptional Reviewer * 2018:

- Carlos Walter M. Campos Memorial Award (Best Student Paper) * 2016:

- Thompson Distinguished Lecturer Award * 2015:

- Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award for Best Original Article *2014: Visiting Research Scientist - Applied Geodynamics Laboratory (AGL),

Bureau of Economic Geology The Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin unites the Department of Geological Sciences with two research units, the Institute for Geophysics and the Bureau of Economic Geology. The Jackson School is both old and new. ...

(BEG),

* 2013–2016: Chair - British Sedimentological Research Group * 2013:

Bigsby Medal The Bigsby Medal is a medal of the Geological Society of London established by John Jeremiah Bigsby. It is awarded for the study of American geology. Recipients SourcThe Geological Society See also * List of geology awards This list of ge ...

* 2012–2013: Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG),

- Research Fellowship * 2012–2013:

- Distinguished Lecturer * 2012–2015:

- Senior Associate Editor * 2012–2015: Basin Research - Editor * 2011: British Sedimentological Research Group - Roland Goldring Award

References

External links

Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Christopher 1977 births Living people British volcanologists Seismologists English geologists Black British academics Academics of the University of Manchester Academics of Imperial College London Alumni of the University of Manchester Norsk Hydro people Sedimentologists 21st-century earth scientists Open access activists People from Derby