Rachel Wood is a palaeobiologist, geologist and Professor of Carbonate Geoscience at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

School of GeoSciences. Her research covers the

Ediacaran The Ediacaran ( ) is a geological period of the Neoproterozoic geologic era, Era that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period at 635 Million years ago, Mya to the beginning of the Cambrian Period at 538.8 Mya. It is the last ...

–

Cambrian The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...

transition, the origin of

biomineralisation Biomineralization, also written biomineralisation, is the process by which living organisms produce minerals, often resulting in hardened or stiffened '' mineralized tissues''. It is an extremely widespread phenomenon: all six taxonomic kingd ...

, the evolution of reef systems, and carbonate production through time. She is the author of ''Reef Evolution'' published by Oxford University Press (1999). In 2020, she was awarded the

Lyell Medal The Lyell Medal is a prestigious annual scientific medal given by the Geological Society of London, equal in status to the Murchison Medal. This medal is awarded based on one Earth Scientist's exceptional contribution of research to the scientific ...

of Geological Society of London, and in 2022 she was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

Life

Rachel Wood is a palaeobiologist, geologist and Professor of Carbonate Geoscience at the

School of GeoSciences. She earned a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Geology and Zoology at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, and then a PhD at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

. Her research covers the

–

transition, the origin of

, the evolution of reef systems, and carbonate production through time. She is the author of ''Reef Evolution'', published by Oxford University Press in 1999. Wood has researched Ediacaran fossils in Siberia and Namibia. Wood is an associate editor of the journal ''

Science Advances ''Science Advances'' is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary open-access scientific journal established in early 2015 and published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The journal's scope includes all areas of science. Hist ...

''. Wood was awarded the Johannes Walther Medal of the International Association of Sedimentologists in 2018. In 2020, she was awarded the

of Geological Society of London, and in 2022 she was elected a

. She also became a Corresponding Member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 2022, and is Honorary Consul to Namibia in Scotland.

References

External links

Wood's Google scholar profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Rachel British geologists Fellows of the Royal Society Academics of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Bristol Living people British palaeontologists Year of birth missing (living people) Lyell Medal winners Female fellows of the Royal Society