People

Prof David Phillips

Professor Phillips recent research focus has been precise geochronology of early human evolution in Kenya, the timing and formation of ore deposits, particularly gold and diamond deposits, and the dating of young volcanic rocks less than 1 million years in age. Prof Phillips is also an expert on diamonds, mineral inclusions in diamonds and diamond host rocks, kimberlites and lamproites.

Dr Hayden Dalton

For his PhD, he focused on kimberlites, the deepest derived magmas on Earth and the volcanoes responsible for transporting diamonds from the deep Earth to the surface. He uses these rocks as a means to probe the geochemical evolution of the physically inaccessible parts of the planet. More recently, he has been investigating hundreds of past volcanic events in east Africa to understand when these eruptions occurred, where they came from, and the insights these can yield into the timing of human evolution.

Mr Stan Szczepanski

Stan has been the technical officer for the Noble Gas Laboratory since its inception in 2005, he is highly skilled in maintaining our lab facilities, data and high standard of precision.

Dr Saini Samim

Dr Saini Samim is the manager of the Ar-Ar lab and researches the volcanic tuffs within the Turkana Basin. Saini has developed novel techniques for trace-element geochemistry and dating of young volcanic tuffs.

Ashley Savelkouls