I was born and raised in the United Kingdom where I completed all my formal education. I have a Bachelor of Science degree with Honours in Geology from the University of St. Andrews, and a Doctorate in Earth Sciences from the University of Liverpool. Part of my graduate studies were spent in the Geography Department at the University of Edinburgh.
After completing my doctorate in 1991 I emigrated to Canada to work at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia as a post-doctoral Research Fellow. I moved to British Columbia in 1994 to teach physical geography and GIS at Northwest Community College (now Coast Mountain College) in Terrace, and worked at Vancouver Island University, where I was a Professor in the Department of Geography from 2003 until I retired in 2024. I taught courses in environmental geography, geomorphology, hydrology, GIS and natural resource management in the Geography and Geoscience degree programs at VIU. In addition to having taught I am also active in research (see details on separate pages), and I am a former Chair of the Geography Department (2011-2013).
I have also worked as a Professional Geoscientist (EGBC) assessing hillslope and river channel stability and managing watersheds for industry, First Nations and government in the forest resource sector.
I like to spend my free time in the outdoors doing a variety of human powered sports with my family and friends.
Alaska Trail in Moab, Utah, USA.