ESO - People
This page will provide information about the people involved in mission-specific platform operations including members of the ESO team and the scientists taking part in the MSP expeditions.
ESO Science Manager - Dan Evans
Dan
Evans has worked in marine geology since graduating in 1970 and has been
the Science Manager for ESO since before the start of IODP in October
2003, although he had previously not been involved with the predecessor
of IODP, the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). This lack of familiarity with
ODP was a drawback at first, but as he became more familiar with the IODP
it may have helped as IODP is a fresh program with a new structure and
different procedures. The work of co-ordinating mission-specific platform
science and operations within the IODP framework has been a considerable
challenge. Dan told us "Working in an international environment with a
range of cultures has proved very interesting and stimulating, and it
is very satisfying when the scientists get good results from our operations".
ESO Curation & Laboratory Manager - Ursula Röhl
Ursula Röhl has worked in marine geology since earning her PhD in
1988; beginning her career at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and
Natural Resources (BGR) including the German ODP office, then continuing
at Purdue University, Indiana, USA, and working since 1995 at the University
of Bremen. She has held the position of Curation & Laboratory Manager
for ESO since before the initiation of IODP in October 2003, and has been
involved in nine expeditions of the predecessor program, the Ocean Drilling
Program (ODP). She sailed on five ODP Legs in various capacities, including
stratigraphic correlator, physical properties specialist and inorganic
geochemist. Her research interests are in the areas of climatic evolution
of Cenozoic oceans, cyclostratigraphy of early Paleogene records, and
non-destructive core logging/scanning methods. She is the manager of both
the IODP Bremen Core Repository (BCR) and of the XRF Core Scanner Lab
at MARUM. Ursula especially enjoys working in international teams in her
work related both to IODP research and management.
ESO European Petrophysics Consortium Manager - Sarah Davies
Sarah Davies is a clastic sedimentologist with key research interests in unravelling the influence of tectonic, climatic and eustatic controls on the development of sedimentary systems. She gained her PhD in 1993, from the University of Leicester, completed postdoctoral research at the University of Liverpool which was followed by a period as a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. Sarah joined the department at Leicester in June 1999 and is currently a full-time Senior Lecturer in Sedimentology. Her current research focuses on the sedimentology, geochemistry and petrophysics of fine-grained successions and the climatic and sea-level controls on depositional systems. She became the manager of the European Petrophysics Consortium (EPC) in October 2007. Leicester is a lead member of EPC (which involves Leicester, Aachen and Montpellier). EPC is responsible for the acquisition and scientific interpretation of core and borehole measurements and the development of associated research programmes. The team advises the Expedition Science Party on logging, pre-expedition planning, shipboard acquisition and data distribution, post-expedition reporting and the scientific analysis and interpretation of the petrophysical data.
ESO Outreach Manager - Alan Stevenson
Alan Stevenson joined the ESO team as Outreach Manager in November 2005. He has been with BGS since graduating in 1978 and started working on marine projects in 1986. In recent years he has been involved in several international projects funded by the EC. Alan has always had an interest in making science available to the public and working within IODP has been an opportunity to develop this area of interest. Alan says 'the education and outreach teams in Europe, the USA and Japan work closely to share and disseminate information about the Program. Working closely with the outreach specialists in the team to promote the work of IODP and the mission-specific platforms in particular has been a rewarding experience. I like to think that my marine science background has helped'.
ESO Public Relations - Albert Gerdes
Albert Gerdes has been the public relations officer for ESO since early 2004. After finishing his studies Gerdes worked as a freelance science writer for German radio stations, print media and TV and mainly covered the fields of polar, marine, and environmental research. In summer 1997 he joined the MARUM - Research Center Ocean Margins, University of Bremen, as a press information officer. "In such a position your work often is restricted to a national level and to cooperation with national media. Working within the IODP community offers many opportunities for international cooperation", Albert says. "Organizing media activities in connection with the Onshore Science Parties is one example. I really like that kind of work."
