Richard Corfield (born 22 January 1962) is a scientist, science writer, and broadcaster, based in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, United Kingdom.

Early life

Corfield attended an all boys'

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

William Ellis School William Ellis School is a voluntary aided secondary school and sixth form for boys located in Gospel Oak, London, England. Admissions The School is located near Hampstead Heath in north London. It is situated just east of Parliament Hill an ...

, in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

, London. He received his BSc in Zoology in 1983 from

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a 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, Bristol, which had ...

and his PhD in

biogeochemistry Biogeochemistry is the Branches of science, scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemistry, chemical, physics, physical, geology, geological, and biology, biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natu ...

in 1987 from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, where he worked with Professor Sir Nicholas Shackleton FRS on the

greenhouse effect The greenhouse effect occurs when greenhouse gases in a planet's atmosphere insulate the planet from losing heat to space, raising its surface temperature. Surface heating can happen from an internal heat source (as in the case of Jupiter) or ...

during the

Paleocene The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...

Epoch.

Career

Corfield is the managing director of the Science and Media consultancy Hanborough Consultants. He has written three books: ''Architects of Eternity: The New Science of Fossils'', ''The Silent Landscape: In the Wake of HMS Challenger,'' and ''Lives of the Planets; A Natural History of the Solar System''. As well as contributing to magazines, on-line publications and newspapers such as ''

Physics World ''Physics World'' is the membership magazine of the Institute of Physics, one of the largest physical societies in the world. It is an international monthly magazine covering all areas of physics, pure and applied, and is aimed at physicists in ...

'', ''

Chemistry World ''Chemistry World'' is a monthly chemistry news magazine published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The magazine addresses current events in the world of chemistry including research, international business news and government policy as it affe ...

'', Astrobiology.net,

Space.com Space.com is an online publication focused on outer space, space exploration, astronomy, skywatching and entertainment, with editorial teams based in the United States and United Kingdom. Launched on July 20, 1999, the website offers live coverag ...

, and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' he also wrote and appeared in the Newton Channel/Guardian documentary An Interview with Craig Venter. He is also a regular contributor on radio, particularly to '' In Our Time'' with

Melvyn Bragg Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg (born 6 October 1939) is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is the editor and presenter of ''The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010, 2012–2023), and the presenter of the BBC Radio 4 documentary series ...

, '' The Material World,'' and ''The Report''.

Personal life

Corfield lives in Long Hanborough, on the A4095, west of Oxford. He is married to Julie Cartlidge. They have two daughters, born in 1994 and 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corfield, Richard 1962 births British science writers Living people British scientists British palaeontologists Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford People educated at William Ellis School People from West Oxfordshire District Science education in the United Kingdom