I am a geologist, paleoecologist and astrobiologist. The broad theme of my research is paleoecology - the interaction of ancient organisms with their surrounding environments - whether they were living in marine environments along geologically dynamic active margins, nestled within coastal dunes and marshes, or are/were surviving in harsh 'extreme' environments such as undersea cold hydrocarbon seeps or terrestrial hot springs. My extremophile / extreme environment studies have broad implications for questions concerning the origin and nature of early life on Earth, whether life ever existed on Mars or in other parts of the Solar System, and exploration of fluid-crustal associations in hydrothermal/spring systems through geologic time.

I was educated along the geologically active margin of the western U.S.A. – from the University of California (Santa Cruz, BSc Earth Sciences), to U Washington (Seattle, MSc Geological Sciences), to U Southern California (Los Angeles, PhD Geological Sciences). Field work in coastal Washington’s rain forest prepared me for the often wet and bush-clad conditions I regularly encounter on North Island, New Zealand, field excursions. Even now I am struck by similarities in geology and landscapes between the two regions. Following post-doctoral research study at NASA Ames Research Center (Exobiology Branch) in California, I took up an academic faculty position in paleoecological and paleoenvironmental teaching and research in the Geology Department at the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, which is now the Earth Sciences programme in the School of Environment. Since then I have co-supervised >70 undergraduate/graduate research students and post-docs, and have worked with numerous colleagues on multi-disciplinary research projects, both in New Zealand and overseas. I am a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Aparangi. I was the founding director of Te Ao Marama - Centre for Fundamental Inquiry - based in the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland, which is dedicated to research and outreach activities related to the origin and evolution of the Universe and its life. I participated in the 3rd & 4th Mars landing site selection workshops hosted by JPL/NASA, where our team advocated for collecting samples from the Columbia Hills hydrothermal silica site in Gusev crater, a top-3 finalist location considered for NASA's Mars 2020 mission to search for evidence of fossil biosignatures on the Red Planet. I was part of an international team of scientists reporting to NASA on the relevance of and strategies for Mars Sample Return. I am an associate editor / editorial board member on the international scientific journals Astrobiology, PALAIOS, and Geobiology.

Current research is focused on marine hydrocarbon seeps and terrestrial hot-springs as analogues for early life settings and astrobiological targets on Mars and Icy Worlds -- at field sites in New Zealand, Argentine Patagonia, South Africa, Western Australia and the western USA. Our team studied 3.48 billion year old rocks from the Pilbara craton, Western Australia, where my collaborators and I examined possible environmental settings for some of the earliest life on Earth. My team also examines geothermal manifestations as tools for geothermal/epithermal exploration. We collaborate with researchers from the University of New South Wales & Curtin University (Australia); Otago University (New Zealand); University of Minnesota, University of Washington & Arizona State University (USA); Leeds University (UK); MARUM-GEOMAR (Germany); Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina); CNRS (Orléans, France); Okayama University/Institute for Planetary Materials (Misasa, Japan), and others.

Distinctions/Honours:
• Earth Science & Astronomy Panel Convenor & Marsden Fund Council member, Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi (2020-23)

• Distinguished lecturer, National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) International School of Exoplanet & Astrobiology, Chiang Mai, Thailand (2019)

• Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi (2016)

• Distinguished lecturer, XIV Josep Comas i Solà International School of Astrobiology, Santander, Spain, on 'Earth analogues for extraterrestrial habitats' (sponsors: NASA & Spanish Centre of Astrobiology, 2016)

• LE STUDIUM® (Institute for Advanced Studies, Loire Valley) Senior Research Fellow at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, Orléans, France (2014)

• Assigned “A” grade university researcher in assessment for the NZ Tertiary Education Commission’s Performance Based Research Fund (2013-2024)

• 2015-16, Co-Organizer, Spaceward Bound New Zealand (SBNZ) & SBNZ for Youth (MBIE 'Unlocking Curious Minds' funding), New Zealand Astrobiology Network

• 2010-13, 2015-16, Earth Science Discipline Lead, School of Environment, The University of Auckland

• Geoscience Society of New Zealand, Hochstetter Lecturer Award (2009)

• Auckland Astronomical Society, Burbidge Lecturer (2011)

Responsibilities:
• Academic Career Mentor, School of Environment, The University of Auckland (2024-26)

• Founding Director, Te Ao Marama - Centre for Fundamental Inquiry, Faculty of Science, The University of Auckland (2018-24)

Qualifications:
BSc (Hons in Major) (University of California), MSc (University of Washington), PhD (University of Southern California)

Areas of Expertise:
Life in extreme environments; astrobiology; geobiology; paleoecologic analysis on active margins; methane seeps through geological time; geothermal systems in time and space; trace fossils as environmental indicators and high-resolution markers of past-shorelines; sedimentology; paragenesis; carbonate and silica diagenesis.

Media Keywords:
Early life, Life on other planets, Paleoecology, Paleoenvironments, Geothermal, Sedimentology, Mars, Astrobiology, Geobiology, Paleontology