Rate My Professor Rhodri Davies

Professor Rhodri Davies is a Professor and Associate Director for Research and Engagement in the Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University. He earned his PhD in Computational Geodynamics from Cardiff University in 2008, focusing on multi-resolution numerical methods for geodynamics. His career trajectory includes a Research Assistant position funded by Shell at Cardiff University (2008-2009), NERC Research Fellow and 1851 Research Fellow at Imperial College London (2010-2012), and progressive roles at ANU since 2013: Research Fellow (2013-2014), ARC Future Fellow (2015-2018), Associate Director for Honours and Masters (2018-2021), Associate Professor (2019-2022), and Professor since 2023. Davies is an internationally recognized computational geodynamicist whose research links the evolution of Earth’s surface to dynamical processes within its mantle across diverse spatial and temporal scales. He has pioneered advanced simulation tools, including Fluidity for geodynamical modeling and the G-ADOPT framework for inverse geodynamics, integrating geophysical, geological, and geochemical datasets to investigate intra-plate volcanism mechanisms, dynamic topography responses to mantle flow, force balances in surface tectonics, and constraints on mantle structure.

His seminal publications encompass 'Earth's surface heat flux' (Solid Earth, 2010), 'Reconciling dynamic and seismic models of Earth's lower mantle: The dominant role of thermal heterogeneity' (Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2012), 'Lithospheric controls on magma composition along Earth’s longest continental hotspot track' (Nature, 2015), 'Earth’s multi-scale topographic response to global mantle flow' (Nature Geoscience, 2019), and recent works such as 'Automatic adjoint-based inversion schemes for geodynamics: reconstructing the evolution of Earth's mantle in space and time' (Geoscientific Model Development, 2024). Davies has garnered major accolades, including the Anton Hales Medal from the Australian Academy of Sciences (2018), Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the European Geosciences Union Geodynamics Division (2014), Harold Jeffreys Lecture from the Royal Astronomical Society (2022), multiple Bear McPhail Excellence in Teaching Awards (2021, 2025), Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (2022), and ANU Media & Outreach Award (2015). He leads significant grants like ARC Discovery Projects on volcanoes and dynamic topography, supervises research students, and teaches courses such as Dynamic Earth - Plates, Plumes and Mantle Convection.