Professor of Geomagnetism, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom

AGU embraces the global community and welcomes leaders representing various identities, voices, and perspectives. List any identities, voices, and perspectives you would bring, including but not limited to nationality, regional representations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and anything else you feel comfortable sharing.

I identify as a white, British, male European and as a full professor in an industrialized Western nation and native English speaker; I recognize and acknowledge substantial privilege in my background and circumstances. I spent most of my childhood in a poor neighborhood in northern England that remains in the lowest quintile for children going on to attend university. I have therefore always sought to provide mentorship and help those who grew up in an environment of low educational aspiration to develop an authentic voice. Having spent 10 years, post-Ph.D., on fixed-term employment contracts, I know the uncertainty associated with establishing an academic career and have provided significant mentorship in this regard too. I also bring an international perspective, spending 2 years living in central Mexico, 1 year in southern France, and 2.5 years in the Netherlands as well as making a great many research visits to every continent except Antarctica. As in my other leadership roles, I would seek to make the Geomagnetism, Paleomagnetism and Electromagnetism (GPE) community an inclusive and welcoming one for all, recognizing that this will require proactive change to encourage participation from those from backgrounds who are currently underrepresented in the geosciences.

Volunteer experience that relates to this position:
Editor for Geophysical Journal International 2010-present; Scientific Data 2014-present; Lead (2009-2021)/co-lead (2021-present) PINT palaeointensity database: www.pintdb.org; Co-lead Deep-time Digital Earth Palaeomagnetism Working Group (2023-present); Instructor at China University of Geosciences, Beijing 2024; Cooperative Institute for Dynamic Earth Research, Berkeley; 2022; International Congress of the Brazilian Geophysical Society, 2021; Group Leader, Nordic Supercontinents Workshops (2022, 2017, 2014); Co-organized conferences: Magnetic Interactions (2012, 2019); RAS Specialist (2018); Various grant and award panels: Natural Environment Research Council, The Royal Society, Royal Astronomical Society

This role aims to catalyze community and build AGU as envisioned by the strategic plan. This leadership position is a dual role - helping to advance AGU’s strategic plan as a member of Council and leading your section. How would you support the Board, staff and other sections to achieve AGU’s vision, values, mission, and goals? How will you engage with members of your section to execute AGU’s strategic plan?

AGU has a huge responsibility and opportunity to affect and support positive global change in the coming years as outlined in its new strategic plan. As president-elect of the GPE section, I would support this through:

• Promoting voices, ideas and mechanisms that further AGU as an organization that proactively encourages participation from, and understanding of, those from backgrounds that are currently underrepresented or otherwise disadvantaged by the scientific status quo.
• Championing advances in culture and practice enabling AGU science to flourish from the opportunities provided by FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) datasets and open-access publications.
• Supporting initiatives that foster collaboration, community building and global citizenship among and between AGU members and the wider population. The nature of the global challenges we face requires partnership engagement at every level, and I consider the promotion of these to be a key part of this role.

My aim will be to enable GPE to play its part in advancing AGU strategy by developing strong two-way flow of information, ideas and initiatives between section members and the Council. The GPE membership already consists of enormous international talent, energy and potential. The question is, How can this base be broadened further, and how can its activities be focused on achieving the best outcomes? I do not claim to have the answers, but as president-elect, I promise to engage with the opinions, ideas, initiatives and data available to me such that, as far as I am able, we can make progress toward them.

Section affiliations:
Education; Geomagnetism, Paleomagnetism and Electromagnetism; Study of the Earth’s Deep Interior; Tectonophysics