Apart from research-led teaching, I undertake collaborative research with forensic colleagues at Keele University and with other UK and global University researchers, as well as with commercial partners and search practitioners. We look to both locate and characterise a variety of near-surface buried objects, which can vary from detecting utility pipes and abandoned mines, to locating environmental contamination and forensic objects of interest. Forensic objects of interest are many, from weapons used in crimes to unmarked graves in church graveyards and clandestine graves of murder victims. This varied role keeps Masters and PhD student busy and brings together multi-disciplinary research teams from different institutions to solve difficult real-world problems.
I am a member of K-PAC (Keele Policing Academic Collaboration Research Group) and both the Near-Surface Geophysics and Forensic Geoscience Speciality Sub-Groups of the Geological Society of London, a not-for-profit organisation whose aims are to improve knowledge and understanding of the Earth, promote science education, awareness, professional excellence and ethical standards for the public good.
Experience
2006–present
Senior Lecturer in Geosciences, Keele University
2005–2006
PDRA, Liverpool University
1998–2002
TA/RA, Heriot-Watt University
Education
2012
Keele University, MA in Teaching & Learning in HE
2003
Heriot-Watt University, PhD
1996
Royall Holloway University of London, BSc Geology
Publications
2020
Geophysical monitoring of simulated homicide burials for forensic investigations, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64262-3
2020
Testing application of GIS, forensic geomorphology and ERT to investigate suspected clandestine grave sites in Colombia, South America, https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14168
2019
Wildlife crime: use of geoscience surveys and geophysics to assist badger sett investigations, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2018.10.026
2019
The search for “Fred”: an unusual vertical burial no-body case, https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14035
2018
Geophysical investigations of WW2 UK air-raid shelters, https://doi.org/10.1080/15740773.2018.1583472
2018
GPR and electrical resistivity surveys to detect & characterise a Spanish Civil War mass burial, Northern Spain, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2018.03.034
2018
Geophysical assessment of illegally buried toxic waste for a Legal Enquiry: A case study in Northern Ireland, UK, https://doi.org/10.1080/15275922.2018.1519740
2017
Determining geophysical responses from burials in graveyards and cemeteries, https://doi.org/10.1190/GEO2016-0440.1
2017
The use of geoscience methods for aquatic forensic searches, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.04.012
2017
Multidisciplinary investigations at P.O.W. Camp 198, Bridgend, S. Wales: Site of a mass escape in March 1945, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15740773.2017.1357900
2016
Discovery of a mass grave from the Spanish Civil War using GPR and forensic archaeology, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2016.05.040
2015
Detecting and characterising of Black Death burials by multi-proxy geophysical methods, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2015.04.010
2012
The use of geoscience methods for terrestrial forensic searches, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.05.006
2010
Electrical resistivity survey to search for a recent clandestine burial of a homicide victim, UK, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.04.023
Professional Memberships
Chartered Geologist by the Geological Society of London
Research Areas
Soil Sciences (0503)
Geology (0403)
Geophysics (0404)
Physical Geography And Environmental Geoscience (0406)
Other History And Archaeology (2199)
Honours
2012 William Smith Fund Award by the Geological Society of London