Tim joined the Department of Applied Geology in January 2014. Prior to arriving at Curtin he worked for six years as a post doctoral scientist at the University of Mainz in Germany. Before that he co-owned and ran a pub in Graz, Austria. Tim obtained his Honours degree in 1992 from the University of Derby in England. He was awarded his PhD in 1999 from the same institution for a thesis entitled “Partial melting of Dalradian pelitic migmatites from the Fraserburgh–Inzie Head area of Buchan, north-east Scotland”.
Tim’s research has concentrated on the study of crystalline rocks from a variety of geodynamic settings and what these can tell us about fundamental processes on Earth. His expertise lie in metamorphic petrology, in particular the application of phase equilibria modelling using internally consistent thermodynamic data.
Tim has specific interests in the generation, segregation and migration of melt in the crust and upper mantle, the fundamental processes driving the evolution of the lithosphere. More recently his research has concentrated on early Earth processes, in particular in Archaean geodynamics and the generation and modification of Earth’s first crust.