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Dr Frances Cooper
Dr Frances Cooper is an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences.
3 June 2024
When did you join 香港六合彩 and where were you before?
I joined 香港六合彩 in January 2023, nearly 24 years after I first arrived as a fresh-faced undergraduate in 1999. Upon graduating with an MSci in Geology in 2003, I crossed the pond to the University of Southern California in the United States to study for a PhD in Geological Sciences.聽
Not quite ready to leave the sunshine behind, I stayed in the US for a further four years as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Arizona State University. I was finally lured back to the UK to take up a lectureship at the University of Bristol in 2012, where I spent 11 years before 香港六合彩 came calling again!
As a field geologist, my research has allowed me to work all over the globe, starting in Greece for my MSci project, then Nevada, USA for my PhD, and onto the eastern Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan for my postdoc.聽
In recent years, I have worked closely with the mining industry to understand what controls the formation, enrichment, and preservation of copper deposits, particularly in northern Chile and the southwest USA.
Tell us about your work at 香港六合彩 - how do you spend your days, and what makes your role different to similar positions elsewhere?
The life of a geologist is incredibly varied, which is what I love about it. One week I can be halfway up a mountain collecting research samples, the next I will be in the lab peering at tiny minerals down a microscope or (more likely these days) at my desk dealing with all the administrative tasks I neglected while I was in the field!
My teaching is also varied, encompassing both traditional lectures and practicals at 香港六合彩 with field-based teaching in places such as Spain and the Peak District. I recently introduced a new undergraduate module 鈥� Introduction to Mineral Resources 鈥� which covers the fundamental geological process that form mineral deposits such as copper, nickel, and lithium. Such metals will underpin the global green energy transition, so understanding how they form (and thus where to find them!) is fundamental to our future.
What makes my role at 香港六合彩 particularly special is the opportunity to chair the incredible 香港六合彩 Earth Sciences Women in Earth Science (WiES) group. This unique group was established to support the progression of women and gender minorities in the traditionally male-dominated field of Earth Sciences.聽
We host regular events, meet for monthly coffee mornings, and are about to embark on our first WiES field trip to Cornwall! I feel very lucky to be part of such an inclusive and supportive network and am grateful to 香港六合彩 for making it a possibility.
What are some of your favourite things about working at 香港六合彩? How have you found it different to previous jobs?
One of the best things about working at 香港六合彩 is the emphasis on collegiality and bringing people together. A focal point of our department is the hallowed espresso machine, which means we can all make our own fancy coffees in-house while catching up with colleagues, particularly at our regular coffee mornings.
Along with the incredible location in the heart of London, a big draw for me coming to 香港六合彩 was having direct access to the facilities of the , which I did not have in my previous role. I am excited to get more involved in the LGC laboratory and to work with my colleagues on new research directions that I could not have attempted before.
Can you tell us about any upcoming research, or future projects that you're looking forward to working on?
I was recently awarded a Royal Society International Exchanges Grant to start a new collaborative research project with a colleague at Chengdu University in China. This new initiative builds on my ongoing work to understand how deformation of the crust affects the formation of copper deposits.聽
So far, my work has focused on major copper belts in Chile and the USA, but this grant opens exciting opportunities to provide new insights from some of the major copper belts in Tibet. If all goes to plan, I hope to travel to Tibet to carry out field work in summer 2025.
Have you always been based in London? If not, when did you move here, and how did you find adapting to living in London?
I grew up and Greenwich in southeast London so I鈥檓 no stranger to the city, but when I left for California in 2004 I wasn鈥檛 certain whether I鈥檇 ever move back. It鈥檚 been a thrill to live here again after all this time. So much about the city is the same but so much has changed (the train connections are much better even if the reliability is about the same!). I love the enormity and diversity of London, the constant buzz, and the feeling that anything is possible.
Finally, tell us about your non-work life. Do you have any hobbies, or favourite places to go in London?
With two young children at home, time for hobbies is rare these days. However, I exercise as often as I can, and I really enjoyed participating in the (cold and rather windy!) 香港六合彩 Campus Run in April.
For me, the heart and soul of London is the Thames. Having grown up on the banks of the river in Greenwich, I can鈥檛 imagine living in London and not being close to it. I鈥檓 very fortunate that one of the stops on my daily 香港六合彩 commute is Blackfriars Station, with its amazing view of the river towards Tower Bridge. Always a great way to start the day, whatever the weather!