Laura Robinson (scientist)

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Laura Frances Robinson
BornNovember 1976 (age 47–48) [1]
Alma mater University of Oxford
University of Cambridge
Scientific career
Institutions University of Bristol
Caltech
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Thesis Pleistocene climate chronology and ocean circulation in the Bahamas using U-series nuclides  (2002)

Laura Frances Robinson, born November 1976, is a British scientist who is Professor of Geochemistry at the University of Bristol. She makes use of geochemistry to study the processes that govern the climate. In particular, Robinson studies radioactive elements, as these can be analysed in geological materials. She was awarded the 2010 President's Award of the Geological Society of London. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Robinson was an undergraduate student at the University of Cambridge, where she studied natural sciences. She moved to the University of Oxford for her graduate studies, where she investigated pleistocene climate chronology. [3] After completing her doctorate, Robinson moved to California. [4] She was appointed a postdoctoral fellow at California Institute of Technology. At Caltech, worked alongside Jess Adkins on deep sea corals. The research took her on a cruise in the North Atlantic ocean, where she journeyed in a submarine to undersea mountains. On this trip she collected fossils from the sea floor. She studied 16,000 year old coral fossils from the Southern Ocean. [4] This experience inspired her to explore how the Atlantic Ocean changed during climate transitions. [4] She moved to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where she was made Associate Scientist.

Research and career

Robinson was awarded the 2010 Geological Society of London President's Award for her contributions to geosciences. [5] In 2011 Robinson moved back to the United Kingdom, where she was appointed to the faculty of the University of Bristol. [6] She was awarded a European Research Council Starting Grant studying changes in chemistry and circulation of the Atlantic Ocean. [7] She makes use of an Agassiz Trawl to collect samples from the floor of the ocean, with a particular focus on deep-sea corals. [8] [9] Robinson was involved with a British Antarctic Survey mission to the South Orkney Islands. [10] The mission took place on the RRS James Clark Ross and investigated the biodiversity in and outside of the South Orkney Islands. [11] [8] For this work she was awarded the Antarctic Service Medal. [6]

In 2016 she delivered a Ted Talk on the secrets she discovers on the ocean floor. [12]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ "Laura Frances Robinson, personal appointments". Companies House.
  2. ↑ "The Geological Society of London - 2010 Awards: Citations, Replies". www.geolsoc.org.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  3. ↑ Robinson, Laura F; University of Oxford (2002). Pleistocene climate chronology and ocean circulation in the Bahamas using U-series nuclides. Oxford: University of Oxford. OCLC   499353011.
  4. 1 2 3 Robinson, Laura. "Laura Robinson | Speaker | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  5. ↑ "The Geological Society of London - President's Awards". www.geolsoc.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  6. 1 2 "Dr. Laura Frances Robinson - AcademiaNet". www.academia-net.org. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  7. ↑ "Laura Frances Robinson". ERC: European Research Council. 2019-02-21. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  8. 1 2 "SHIP BLOG: Lost in a Sea of Biology". British Antarctic Survey. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  9. ↑ "Laura Robinson - Coral Insights | MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences". eapsweb.mit.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  10. ↑ "SO-AntEco". British Antarctic Survey. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  11. ↑ "Report: A research cruise on the Southern Ocean". Merton College, Oxford. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  12. ↑ Robinson, Laura, The secrets I find on the mysterious ocean floor , retrieved 2021-07-27
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