Rate My Professor Benjamin Mills

Professor Benjamin Mills serves as Professor of Earth System Evolution in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds. He earned his PhD in 2012 from the University of East Anglia with a thesis entitled 'Weathering pathways and limitations in biogeochemical models: Application to Earth system evolution,' and a First-Class Master of Mathematics (MMath) from the same institution in 2008. His career trajectory includes serving as Research Assistant at the University of East Anglia (2012), Research Fellow at the University of Exeter (2013), Research Assistant at the University of Bristol (2015), and Academic Fellow at the University of Leeds (2015 onwards), advancing to Professor. Mills leads the Earth Evolution Modelling Group, chairs the Earth System Science Group of the Geological Society of London, and organizes the annual Life and Planet conference. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London and holds memberships in the American Geophysical Union, European Geosciences Union, Geological Society of America, European Association of Geochemistry, and Geochemical Society.

A biogeochemist and numerical modeller, Professor Mills investigates the evolution of the Earth System over geological time, focusing on biogeochemistry, Earth history, paleoclimate, paleoecology, Earth system science, and exoplanets. His group developed the SCION Earth Evolution Model, the only fully 3D framework simulating planetary environments over billions of years, supporting projects such as the ERC/UKRI-funded SIM-EARTH for advanced Earth environment simulation. Key publications encompass 'Proterozoic oxygen rise linked to shifting balance between seafloor and terrestrial weathering' (PNAS, 2014), 'Changing tectonic controls on the long-term carbon cycle from Mesozoic to present' (Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 2014), 'Timing of Neoproterozoic glaciations linked to transport-limited global weathering' (Nature Geoscience, 2011), 'Early Triassic super-greenhouse climate driven by vegetation collapse' (Nature Communications, 2025), and 'Strong link between Earth’s oxygen level and geomagnetic dipole revealed since the last 540 million years' (Science Advances, 2025). In 2025, he received the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists UK Laureate in Physical Sciences & Engineering for Earth System Modelling contributions elucidating atmospheric oxygenation and habitability for complex life, and delivered the R. Berner Lecture at the Goldschmidt conference.