Department of Earth Sciences

Prof. Jon Davidson

It is with great sadness that we report that Prof. Jon Davidson passed away, peacefully, at home in the early hours of 26^th September 2016. Jon has been battling leukaemia for over 8 years during which time he showed tremendous courage and dignity, and continued to do everything he could to try to make this a better University for everyone. Before that time, Jon was the Head of Department who led the reforms that transformed the Department in the early 2000s. Jon will be greatly missed by everyone in the Department and we would like to express our deepest sympathy to Jon’s wife Donna and children, Max and Daisy.

An obituary can be found here, where you can also leave your own thoughts about and tributes to Jon.

(27 Sep 2016)

Dr Richard Walters explains cause of devastating earthquake in Italian Apennines

Durham University Earth Sciences Lecturer Dr. Richard Walters has spoken to the media regarding the geological causes of the devastating earthquake in central Italy on the 24 August. You can read more on the story here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37176502

http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-earthquake-in-amatrice-italy/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/25/italian-earthquake-death-toll-soars-rescuers-work-through-night

(25 Aug 2016)

Durham Alumna selected to guide paratriathlete at Rio Paralympic Games

Congratulations to former Earth Sciences department undergraduate Hazel Smith (2007) has been officially selected to guide paratriathlete Alison Patrick at the Paralympic Games in Rio:

http://britishtriathlon.org/news/paratri-selections-rio_7223

You can follow Hazel's progress on her blog.

(25 Jul 2016)