Professor David Rothery

Biography

"In November 2013 I became Professor of Planetary Geosciences. I was a Senior Lecturer in the Open University Department of Earth Sciences since 1994 (transferring to the Planetary & Space Sciences Division of the new Dept of Physical Sciences in August 2011), and before that was a Lecturer here. During 1999-2004 I was Director of Teaching and Geosciences Programme Director. I have also been Leader of the IAVCEI Commission on Remote Sensing, and in 2005 I was appointed to the PPARC Solar System Advisory Panel and the BepiColombo Oversight Committee. In May 2006 I was appointed UK Lead Scientist on MIXS (Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer), which is the only UK Principal Investigator instrument on BepiColombo, the European Space Agency mission to Mercury to be launched in 2018. I became MIXS Lead Co-Investigator in 2014. I chair ESA's Mercury Surface and Composition Working Group. My research interests centre on the study of volcanic activity by means of remote sensing, and volcanology and geoscience in general on other planets."

Research Interest

"Characterizing planetary surfaces, remote sensing of volcanic activity I am UK Lead Co-Investigator on the Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer, and co-chair of ESA's Mercury Surface & Composition working group."