Christopher Jackson

Born and raised in Derby to a Jamaican mother and a Vincentian father, I was the first person in my family to attend university. Having done so, I completed my BSc (1998 - Geology) and PhD (2002 - Rift basin development) at the University of Manchester. From 2002 until 2004, I was employed as an exploration research geologist in the Norsk Hydro (now Equinor) research centre, Bergen, Norway. I then moved to Imperial College, where I was Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader, and eventually Professor of Basin Analysis.

I returned to the University of Manchester in early-2021 as the Chair of Sustainable Geoscience. As a member of the Basins Research Group, I continue to work on a range of problems related to basin structure and evolution, focusing on: (i) the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of rift and salt basins: (ii) the processes and products of crustal magmatism; and (iii) the structure and emplacement of submarine landslides, drawing on traditional fieldwork techniques and subsurface (i.e. seismic reflection and borehole) datasets. Elements of this research is applied to: (i) the characterisation and mitigation of geohazards; (ii) the locating and production of petroleum resources; and (iii) the sequestration of carbon dioxide in geological rock formations.

When not studying rocks, I give geoscience lectures to the general public and in schools. I have also appeared on several, Earth Science-focused, television productions and podcasts. I am actively engaged in efforts to improve equality, diversity, and inclusivity in Earth Science in particular, and Higher Education in general. Some of my work can be found here: (i) barriers to participation in undergraduate fieldwork; (ii) dealing with anti-Black racism in geoscience fieldwork; (iii) inclusion of LGBTQ+ staff and students in geoscience fieldwork; and (iv) the racial diversity crisis in geosciences.