Dr Iain Neill he/him
Lecturer in Magmatic Processes
Mission Priority Areas
I was born and grew up in the Highlands of Scotland. This part of Earth - despite it being relatively local to us and of course in a highly developed nation - has been subject of countless geological studies driven by outsiders, and it has a history of hydrocarbon exploitation that arguably, has achieved relatively little in terms of building a sustainable future for local communities.
The drive to NetZero once again means the Highlands will be a focus of resource exploitation. Can we do things better this time and avoid parachute practices?
My reason to join DiveIn is to tackle parachute science and parachute exploitation of resources, whether that is in the Highlands of Scotland or elsewhere. Parachute science is, unfortunately, still a big part of traditional DTPs and CDTs, particularly at within-country levels.
I would especially like to work with a PhD student who is local to an area central to NetZero, to both do applied science and embed them back in their communities to study community understanding of their surroundings, and to enable those communities to make informed decisions about their future growth and sustainability.
I’m a geologist who constrains plate tectonic processes and Earth’s resources. I’m an expert on the rocks of the Caribbean, near East, and Scotland. I am increasingly involved in building background knowledge which will help the drive towards NetZero in the UK. This includes assessing granite plutons for minerals or geothermal energy, and the geology of areas earmarked for clean energy infrastructure, such as the Great Glen. Whilst this is fundamentally interdisciplinary work, my interest in DiveIn comes from the wider issue of parachute practices related to NetZero. It is my passion to do more research at the nexus of geological knowledge, community engagement, and sustainable development.
To give one example, the UK’s drive to NetZero especially affects the energy-rich rural Highlands of Scotland where I grew up. Here, housing, tourism, nature degradation, land ownership, infrastructure, and the demise of oil and gas, sit against a great opportunity for the NetZero ‘boom’ to empower rural communities to tackle these issues through finance, jobs, and community ownership. Currently, as in the past, there is little local geological understanding and many communities are not particularly engaged in using natural resources to their benefit. Outsiders, including overseas companies, may parachute in and remove resources and energy whilst leaving a questionable positive legacy locally. I want to cut off this parachute practice as early as possible: 1) supervise the building of geological knowledge of people who come from the Highlands, or any area in a similar situation; 2) help them practice knowledge transfer to their own communities, and 3) assess its effectiveness and influence on communities’ long-term planning. To do this, I want to form collaborations with those interested in clean energy, rural development, and community engagement.
Without the community focus, I currently lead-supervise 3 x PGR students who are building a new baseline of Scottish geological knowledge in light of the drive towards NetZero applications. We’re working in collaboration with the British Geological Survey and other UK academics. My 2 x past students in this area are now a freelance exploration geologist working in Argyll and Bute, and an environmental consultant working in Easter Ross.
As a supervisor, I’m enthusiastic, approachable, and will champion you to others.
I’ve been a parachute scientist in the Caribbean and have learnt to do better in the Caucasus. I introduced teaching on Parachute Science and Community Engagement in our School; and I am committed to fair practice in field-based teaching.
I’m originally from the town everyone drives through but doesn’t stop in, Dingwall, which lies north of Inverness on the Inner Moray Firth. I now live on the North Clyde coast with my wife, pre-school daughter, and (some would say too many) cats.
