Rate My Professor Jody Webster

Professor Jody Webster is Professor of Marine Geosciences and Co-Coordinator of the Geocoastal Research Group in the School of Geosciences, Faculty of Science, at the University of Sydney. He completed his BSc, BSc (Hons) in Geosciences, and PhD in Geosciences at the University of Sydney in 2000. Following his doctorate, Webster held a postdoctoral position in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz from 2001 to 2002. He then served as Associate Professor in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at James Cook University from 2005 to 2008. Upon joining the University of Sydney in 2008 as Senior Lecturer in the School of Geosciences, he progressed to Associate Professor in 2014 and full Professor in 2021. His multidisciplinary research centers on sedimentology and stratigraphy, with specializations in carbonate sedimentology, sea-level changes, climate variability, tectonics, and their impacts on coral reef and carbonate platform systems, particularly the Great Barrier Reef.

Webster has led major international scientific drilling expeditions, including as Co-Chief Scientist for Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 325, which investigated the Great Barrier Reef's response to post-glacial sea-level rise and environmental shifts. His influential publications include 'Response of the Great Barrier Reef to sea-level and environmental changes over the past 30,000 years' (Nature Geoscience, 2018), 'Coral reef structural complexity provides important coastal protection from waves under rising sea levels' (Science Advances, 2018), 'Coral reefs and sea-level change' (Marine Geology, 2014), and 'Drowning of the -150 m reef off Hawaii: a casualty of global meltwater pulse 1A?' (Geology, 2004). With more than 7,290 citations documented on ResearchGate and significant contributions to paleoclimate reconstruction and reef resilience studies, Webster's work informs predictions of coral reef responses to modern climate challenges. He has received recognition through the University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in Outstanding Research and actively supervises PhD students in geocoastal research.