Rate My Professor Timothy Chapman

Dr Timothy Chapman is a Senior Lecturer in Earth Sciences, specialising in metamorphic petrology, at the University of New England's School of Environmental and Rural Science. He earned his Doctorate of Philosophy in Geology from the University of Sydney in 2017 and a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours from the same institution in 2012. Chapman joined the University of New England in 2019 as a Postdoctoral Fellow and advanced to Lecturer in Mineralogy and Petrology before attaining his current senior lectureship position. His teaching responsibilities include petrology and field geology, and he serves as HDR Coordinator in the school.

Chapman's research centres on the textural and chemical analysis of high-grade and high-pressure metamorphic and igneous rocks, integrating petrological, geochemical, structural, and phase equilibria modelling approaches to study geological processes from micro- to tectonic scales. His investigations focus on the formation and evolution of the lithosphere and mantle, employing field relationships, microscopy, geochemistry, and micro-analytical techniques on samples from extreme Earth conditions. Active field areas include Fiordland in New Zealand, New Caledonia, the New England Orogen, and central Australia. Key publications encompass 'Grain-scale dependency of metamorphic reaction on strain at lower crustal conditions' (Journal of Metamorphic Geology, 2019), 'Inefficient high-grade metamorphism in orthogneiss' (American Mineralogist, 2019), 'Evaluating importance of metamorphism in the foundering of continental crust' (Scientific Reports, 2017), 'Crustal differentiation in a thickened arc – evaluating depth dependences' (Journal of Petrology, 2016), and 'Pulses in Silicic Arc Magmatism Initiate End-Permian Climate Instability and Extinction' (2022). He has secured grants including Australian Synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy beamtime allocations and Edgeworth David Travel Grants. Awards include the University Medal (2012), Sydney Alumina Scholarship (2014), Deas-Thomson Scholarship in Geology (2013), Ken Richards Memorial Scholarship in Geology (2012), and Sheila Mitchell Swain Memorial Prize (2012). Chapman is a member of the Geological Society of Australia, American Geophysical Union, Mineralogical Society of America, Australian Institute of Geoscientists, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, and Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Society.