Prof. John Underhill

Shell Chair of Exploration Geoscience & NERC CDT Academic Director · Heriot-Watt University · company speakers →

John Underhill gained his first degree in Geology at Bristol University in 1982. He was awarded a PhD entitled ‘Neogene and Quaternary Tectonics and Sedimentation in Western Greece from the University of Wales, Cardiff in 1985. He worked for Shell in The Hague and London as an exploration geoscientist between 1985-89 before being appointed as a Lecturer in the Grant Institute of Geology (as it was then) in 1989 becoming Professor of Stratigraphy there in 1998. Whilst at Edinburgh, he spent sabbaticals in BP (1992-93) and Norsk Hydro (1997-99). John remained at Edinburgh until the summer of 2013 when he made the short move across to HWU in the same city. His main area of geological research is understanding the structural and stratigraphic evolution of sedimentary basins through the integration of seismic interpretation methods and field geology. His research not only informs our understanding of petroleum systems but also has contributed to the location of safe geological storage sites for carbon sequestration. John was elected to the Board of the European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers (EAGE) in 2009, an organization he subsequently was President of in 2011-12. In 2012, he was awarded the Geological Society’s Petroleum Group‘s top award, The Silver Medal and the Edinburgh Geological Society’s Clough Medal. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) bestowed their prestigious Distinguished Educator Award to John at their Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh in May 2013 and he won the EAGE’s Alfred Wegener Award in 2014. Earlier this year, he was awarded the Geological Society’s prestigious Lyell Medal.

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