Rate My Professor Thomas Gernon

Professor Thomas Gernon is a Professorial Fellow (Research) and Professor of Earth Science at the University of Southampton, based at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton. He obtained a BSc (Hons) in Geology with First Class Honours from University College Dublin in 2004 and a PhD in physical volcanology from the University of Bristol in 2007. He completed a postdoctoral research position at the University of Bristol from 2007 to 2008, followed by a lectureship in geology at Trinity College Dublin from 2008 to 2009. He joined the University of Southampton as Lecturer in Earth Science in 2010, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2016, and advanced to his current professorial role.

Professor Gernon’s research focuses on solid Earth drivers of Earth’s climate state, Earth surface processes, the influence of global tectonics on geochemical cycles through geologic time, and the co-evolution of volcanism and seismicity in different tectonic environments. His current projects examine the role of continental breakup in the deep carbon cycle and climatic change, as well as links between dynamic mantle processes and Earth surface processes. He is a Turing Fellow (appointed in 2018 and again in 2021), a Fellow of the Geological Society (FGS), and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). He has led or co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed papers in international scientific journals and has delivered more than 50 lectures at international conferences, workshops, seminars, and public events. He serves as module coordinator for SOES3025 Independent Mapping Projects and SOES2037 Structural Geology and GIS, and contributes to teaching in volcanic and mantle processes and Earth materials.