Profile – Earth Zone

Education:

I did my GCSEs and A-levels at Lord Wandsworth College, Hampshire, and then went to Cambridge University for my 1st degree. Then I moved to Bristol University for my PhD.
Qualifications:

I did Physics, Chemistry and Maths at A-level, with an AS in Spanish. I have a Masters degree in Earth Sciences from Cambridge, and a PhD in Geophysics from Bristol University
Work History:

I briefly worked as a geophysicist at Shell in Holland. I’ve also done a short spell as an intern at Pinnacle, another oil company (in Canada).
Current Job:

I’m paid to study earthquakes, both natural ones and, importantly, ones created by man-made activities such as coal mining and shale gas production

My Typical Day:

I get up slightly later than I should, and get to my office, where I analyse earthquake data from around the world. I also build computer models of volcanoes, coal mines and oil reservoirs to understand how they behave, and whether they’ll produce earthquakes.
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Most of the time, I’m in my office analysing earthquake data and building computer models. Here’s my office:

However, the best bits of my work are when I get to go to the field, anywhere in the world, including volcanoes, and deploy seismometers to monitor the earth! Here’s some photos from a recent trip to the Nisyros volcano, which is on a Greek Island, where we deployed some geophysical monitoring equipment.

Here’s the volcanic crater:

Here’s us conducting a seismic survey at the bottom of the crater:

And here’s some monitoring equipment we deployed:
What I'd do with the prize money:

I would use it to buy equipment and material to take to schools, to help you guys learn more about how earthquakes and volcanoes work

James Verdon