Rate My Professor Jon Wade

Jon Wade is Associate Professor of Planetary Materials in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford. He also serves as Director of Graduate Studies. His research interests include planetary core formation, experimental petrology and microanalysis using techniques such as electron beam, X-ray and mass spectrometry methods. Wade investigates all aspects of planetary evolution, with particular focus on the role of iron in determining the initiation and persistence of life on Earth, including its possible role in keeping water on the planet's surface. His work has also touched on the abiogenic synthesis of biological compounds and, in collaboration with colleagues in immunology, the development of methods to analyse the elemental content of single particles such as cells, especially iron abundance in biological systems.

Wade has an alternative route into academia, having worked in a variety of industries prior to his academic appointments. He maintains a keen interest in understanding barriers to entry into academia, particularly at Oxford, and ways to minimise them. He is a Fellow by Special Election at St Cross College, Oxford.