Christopher Aiden-Lee Jackson (born 1977) is a British geoscientist and science communicator. 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 of Manchester is c ...

, 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 spheres ...

, 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 status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

in the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East ...

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

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

at the

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

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of

s with Rob Gawthorpe, completing in 2002.

Research and career

Jackson's research focuses on the geodynamic, structural, and stratigraphic evolution of sedimentary basins. He has been described by 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 ...

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 Norway, 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 th ...

research center,

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. In 2004, Jackson joined

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

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 spheres ...

and Engineering, where he was appointed

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

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 university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

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, and the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the following fac ...

. He was promoted to

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

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. Part of the

open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...

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 versi ...

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, Unit ...

'' 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. He is a Fellow of the

. 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

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

. 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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary ''Expedition Volcano'' involved the scientists studying Nyiragongo 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. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including yo ...

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 ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

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. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

programmes ''

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

'' and ''

The Infinite Monkey Cage ''The Infinite Monkey Cage'' is a BBC Radio 4 comedy and popular science series. Hosted by physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince, ''The Independent'' described it as a "witty and irreverent look at the world according to science". Since 2 ...

'', as well as ''

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 ...

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

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or ru ...

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 about 17,000 members across 129 countries. The AAPG works to "advance the science of geology, especially as it relates to ...

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. Hi ...

Honorary Fellow * 2020:

- Chair in Sustainable Geoscience *2020

Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...

- 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 the US state of Oklahoma. It is commonly referred to by its acronym SEPM, which refers to its former name, the Society of Economic Paleontologists a ...

'' - 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 (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. Recipients SourcThe Geological Society See also * List of geology awards * Prizes named after people This is a list of awards that are na ...

* 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

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Christopher 1977 births Living people British volcanologists British 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 British earth scientists Open access activists Academics from Derby Scientists from Derby