UTIG Researcher Selected for International Scientific Leadership Role

November 2, 2015

James Austin, a senior research scien­tist and associate director of inter­national relations at the Institute for Geophysics (UTIG), has been selected as forum chair of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), a coalition of 26 countries dedicated to studying some of the planet’s most important environmental and earth science topics by sampling sub-seafloor environments.

The international consortium uses data recovered from sub-seafloor sedi­ments and rocks to improve scientific understanding of changing climate conditions, risks posed by geohazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis, the origins of ancient life, and the structure and processes of the Earth’s tectonic plates and uppermost mantle.

As chair, Austin will serve as the face of the scientific ocean drilling program, representing the IODP at scientific meetings, and attending its facility board meetings and proposal evalu­ation panel meetings. Austin will also preside over the IODP’s annual forum meeting. Austin began his two-year term on Oct. 1, 2015