It may surprise you to learn that I came late to the joys of Geology. Ten years ago, as I was preparing to start University, I had decided that life as a physicist was my scientific destiny, and I hadn’t given much thought to earth sciences since I dropped Geography at the age of 14; I had a fatal allergy to urban growth models and surveys of supermarket parking, which seemed to take up most of the syllabus.
However, my undergraduate degree was in Natural Sciences, which meant that it my first year, in addition to Physics and Maths, I had to take courses in two other experimental sciences, and in addition to Cell Biology, I opted to complete my set with Geology. I’d like to say that this was a decision made after long nights of serious deliberation, but I must confess that – not for the first or last time – what turned out to be one of the more important decisions in my life was pretty random and spur-of-the-moment. I thought that learning a bit more about earthquakes and volcanoes would be quite cool, and there was the additional attraction of field trips to satisfy my wanderlust.

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