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Richard Davies (academic)

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Professor Richard Davies
BSc PhD
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Plymouth
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 2024
Preceded byProfessor Judith Petts DBE
Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Global at Newcastle University
In office
2014 – October 2024
Succeeded byProfessor Chris Whitehead

Richard Davies is a British geologist, academic and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Plymouth.

As of 2024, he has published over 100 academic papers, and is an expert on fracking, geology and environmental sciences.[1]

Education

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Davies achieved his BSc in Geology from the University of Reading in 1990, and his PhD in Geology from the University of Edinburgh in 1995.[2]

Career

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Davies began his career working at various oil and gas companies,[3] and stopped working in this industry to persue research into climate change in 2003.[4]

Davies was the director of the Durham Energy Institute at Durham University from 2009–2013.[5]

In 2006, Davies led a team to identify the cause of the Lusi mud volcano eruption, resulting in the oil and gas company paying millions in compensation to the over 50,000 affected local residents.[6] In 2011, he co-authored a paper further investigating the eruption.[7]

Davies became a Professor of geo-energy[8] and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Global at Newcastle University in 2014.[9] Whilst at Newcastle, he continued his work on Fracking research which resulted in heavy criticism against him.[10] Davies was accused of being biased towards fracking companies, a claim which he rejected.[11]

In 2017, Davies received a commendation by the John Maddox Prize.[12][13]

During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, Davies discovered a substance known as Methane hydrate which releases methane from the sea-floor.[14][15] The substance was shown to be more vulnerable to warming than initially thought due to its depth,[16] and shown to be a climate change concern.[17]

Davies was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Plymouth in October 2024 following Judith Petts's retirement.[4] In his first official message to the University, Davies said that he would "put students first" and that he is "optimistic about the future".[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Richard Davies - Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Global & Sustainability at Newcastle University". THE ORG. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  2. ^ "Richard Davies". University of Plymouth. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  3. ^ "University of Plymouth announces new Vice-Chancellor". University of Plymouth. 2024-07-10. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  4. ^ a b Telford, William (2024-07-11). "New head of Plymouth University announced". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  5. ^ "The Geological Society of London - Fracked or fiction: so what are the risks associated with shale gas exploitation?". www.geolsoc.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
  6. ^ "Mud Volcano Was Man-Made, New Evidence Confirms | Wired Science | Wired.com". web.archive.org. 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  7. ^ "Indonesian mud volcano flow 'to last 26 years'". BBC News. 2011-02-25. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  8. ^ "ReFINE - Newcastle University". www.refine.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  9. ^ "Staff Profile | School of Natural and Environmental Sciences | Newcastle University". www.ncl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  10. ^ Farand, Chloe (2017-11-30). "Fracking Expert: 'We Are Just Doing The Science, But We Are Being Criticised From All Sides'". DeSmog. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  11. ^ Brown, Jonathan (2013-04-13). "My fracking study was fully independent, says professor - as campaigners say universities have been hijacked by PR machine". The Independent. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  12. ^ "Beyond the Barrier - Summer 2018 by Loughborough Schools Foundation - Issuu". issuu.com. 2020-01-28. p. 37. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  13. ^ adam (2017-11-30). "Maddox Prize 2017 - Sense about Science". Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  14. ^ Simon, Matt. "Don't Worry, It's Just 'Fire Ice'". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  15. ^ "Climate Change Triggers Methane Release From Deep Ocean Hydrate". AZoCleantech. 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  16. ^ Davies, Richard (2023-12-08). "Frozen methane under the seabed is thawing as oceans warm – and things are worse than we thought". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  17. ^ "Melting "fire-ice" unleashes deep methane from beneath the seafloor". Earth.com. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  18. ^ Chadwick, Louis (2024-10-14). "Plymouth University's new Vice-Chancellor puts 'Students first' in opening messages". Plymouth Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
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