Profile

Evolution is a process that takes thousands or millions of years, so if we want to understand it properly we have to find out what happened to life in the distant past, not just look at things that are alive today. The best way to find out what life used to be like, and how it has changed, is to look at fossils – where parts of living things have been preserved in ancient rocks. Unfortunately fossils are usually only tiny pieces of the animal, so it can take a long time to figure out what they used to be from.

Part of my work is to go find these fossils (like dinosaurs and ancient fish) and then investigate them to figure out what kind of creature they were. Another part is to collect lots of data about many different fossils, and do analyses on the data to try to understand how evolution happens, and when and why extinctions happen.

I also write computer programs and then I use the data I have collected along with the programs, to make simulations of evolution and exticntion happening. I can change things in my simulations to see what controls extinction, so that I can understand it, and maybe use the information to help other people prevent extinctions in the future.

I cycle to work in the morning and get there just before 9. The first thing I usually do is check and answer my emails, and then see if any other scientists that work on similar things to me have released any interesting new research. I often teach students in the mornings, so if it’s one of those days I’ll go down to the classroom and help get out all the fossils or rocks that they are going to learn about, or get the computers ready, then answer all of their questions.

After that if I’m making a computer program I’ll go to my office and work on it for a while. If not then I usually collect data about fossils, either by reading research that other people have done, or by looking at the fossils myself.

I usually go have lunch with my friends for about an hour, and then afterwards I do some work for my university’s science magazine. I’m the broadcast editor so I make the podcast and have to edit lots of audio recordings. Most afternoons I take computer programs I have written and use them to do analysis and statistical tests on the data that I have collected, then think about the results that I get from them, and what it means about how evolution and extinction happen.

At the end of the day I always do something relaxing like play sport, watch TV, or go to the pub with my friends.