Rate My Professor Alan Jamieson

Alan Jamieson is Professor at The Oceans Institute and the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia and the founding Director of the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre. He holds a PhD in Zoology from the University of Aberdeen, awarded in 2004 for his thesis entitled Autonomous lander technology for biological research at mid-water, abyssal and hadal depths, and a BSc in Design for Industry from Robert Gordon University, awarded in 1999. Jamieson's career spans over 25 years in deep-sea science, technology, and exploration. He began at Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, progressing from mechanical technician to Senior Lecturer in Marine Biology (2000-2016). He then served as Senior Lecturer in Marine Ecology in the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences at Newcastle University (2016-2021) before joining UWA.

Jamieson is an international authority on the hadal zone, the deepest ocean depths between 6,000 and 11,000 metres. His research specializations include hadal zone ecology, depth-related marine ecology, population connectivity, anthropogenic impacts, subsea technology development, and integrated taxonomy. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters, including the monograph The Hadal Zone: life in the deepest oceans (Cambridge University Press, 2015), and recent works such as Bottom mixed layer derivation and spatial variability over the central and eastern abyssal Pacific Ocean (Ocean Science, 2026), Deep ocean seascape ecology: gaps and pathways for application (Landscape Ecology, 2026), and Faunal biodiversity of the lower abyssal and hadal zones of the Japan, Ryukyu and Izu-Ogasawara trenches (Biodiversity Data Journal, 2026). He pioneered the design, construction, and operations of full ocean-depth Hadal-Landers, deployed over 800 times worldwide, and has participated in over 70 deep-sea expeditions on more than 26 research vessels across every ocean. Since 2018, he has been Chief Scientist of the DSSV Pressure Drop, completing 30 submersible dives in the DSV Limiting Factor, including 14 to hadal depths and four beyond 10,000 metres; he was the first British person to reach hadal depths. In 2024, he was awarded the Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for services to marine science and exploration. His contributions have advanced understanding of deep-sea biodiversity, geology, and habitats, with work featured in BBC’s Blue Planet II and NHK’s Deep Ocean documentaries.