Jenny Collier

{{Short description|British marine geophysicist}} {{Infobox scientist | honorific_prefix = | name = Jenny Collier | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image =  | image_size = | image_upright = | landscape =  | alt = | caption = | birth_name =  | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause =  | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates =  | other_names = | siglum = | pronounce = | citizenship =  | nationality =  | fields = Marine geophysics | workplaces = [[Imperial College, London]] | patrons = | education = | alma_mater = [[University of Bristol]] (BSc)<br> [[University of Durham]] (MSc)<br>[[University of Cambridge]] (PhD) | thesis_title = | thesis_url = | thesis_year = | doctoral_advisor = [[Bob White (geophysicist)|Bob White]]

| academic_advisors = | doctoral_students =

| awards = [[Murchison Medal]] (2025) | author_abbrev_bot = | author_abbrev_zoo = | spouse = | partner =  | children = }}

'''Jenny Collier''' is a [[marine geophysics|marine geophysicist]], and professor at [[Imperial College, London]]. She is best known for her work imaging [[magma chamber|magma chambers]] beneath the sea floor, and for the discovery of the great flood about 450,000 years ago that carved out the [[English Channel]]. She was awarded the [[Murchison Medal]] of the [[Geological Society of London]] in 2025.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/about-us/society-awards/society-awards-2025-winners/|title=Society Awards 2025 Winners | The Geological Society of London|website=www.geolsoc.org.uk}}</ref> ==Education and career== Collier studied physics at the [[University of Bristol]], before completing a Masters project at the University of Durham with geophysicist [[Martin Bott]]. Collier then went to [[University of Cambridge]], where she studied for a PhD in marine geophysics with [[Bob White (geophysicist)|Bob White]]. Collier subsequently worked at the University of Oxford as a post-doctoral researcher, with [[Anthony Brian Watts|Tony Watts]]. Later, Collier was appointed lecturer at Imperial College, London. She became a professor in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://geologyglasgow.org.uk/event/breaching-of-the-dover-strait-and-the-creation-of-island-britain-lecture/|title=Breaching of the Dover Strait and the creation of "Island Britain" (lecture)}}</ref>

==Research== Collier's early work in marine geophysics used [[Reflection seismology|seismic imaging]] to detect the presence of pools of magma beneath [[Mid-ocean ridge|oceanic spreading centres]]. Later, with geologist [[Sanjeev Gupta (geologist)|Sanjeev Gupta]] she mapped the shape of the floor of the English Channel. This provided evidence for the catastrophic flooding which first carved the Channel, about 450,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://theconversation.com/geologists-unveil-how-britain-first-separated-from-europe-and-it-was-catastrophic-75636|title=Geologists unveil how Britain first separated from Europe – and it was catastrophic|first=Simon|last=Redfern|date=April 4, 2017|website=The Conversation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12289-dam-busting-megaflood-made-britain-an-island/|title=Dam-busting 'megaflood' made Britain an island|website=New Scientist}}</ref>

In 2017, Collier led a major project with the research vessel [[RRS James Cook|RRS ''James Cook'']] to investigate the processes of [[subduction]] beneath the [[Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc]] in the [[Caribbean]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eos.org/science-updates/project-voila-the-volatile-recycling-in-the-lesser-antilles|title=Project VoiLA: Volatile Recycling in the Lesser Antilles|first=S. Goes, J. Collier, J. Blundy, J. Davidson, N. Harmon, T. Henstock, J. M. Kendall, C. Macpherson, A. Rietbrock, K. Rychert, J. Prytulak, J. van Hunen, J. J. Wilkinson, M.|last=Wilson|date=March 14, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/30/scientists-search-caribbean-quake-clues-terrawatch|title=Scientists search for Caribbean quake clues|first=Kate|last=Ravilious|work=The Guardian |date=April 30, 2017}}</ref> During the research cruise, they were able to observe the ongoing activity of the [[submarine volcano]], [[Kick 'em Jenny]], offshore from island of [[Grenada]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oceannews.com/news/science-technology/researchers-capture-underwater-volcano-eruption-in-the-caribbean/|title=Researchers Capture Underwater Volcano Eruption In The Caribbean | Ocean News & Technology|date=March 21, 2018}}</ref>

==Recognition==

In 2015, Collier was elected president of the [[British Geophysical Association]]. In an interview at that time, Collier said that her biggest mistake was ‘Dropping O-level chemistry in favour of cookery. My pastry skills are quite good, but it has proven hard to incorporate these into my professional life’. <ref>{{cite journal|journal=Astronomy & Geophysics|volume=56|year=2015|title=Q&A with Jenny Collier|page= 5|doi=10.1093/astrogeo/atv172 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/astrogeo/atv172}}</ref>

In 2025, Collier was awarded the Murchison Medal of the Geological Society of London for her "groundbreaking work on .. the structure of the oceanic lithosphere and the .. evolution of continental shelves".<ref name="auto"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Jenny}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:21st-century British geologists]] [[Category:Academics of Imperial College London]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Marine geophysicists]] [[Category:Women geophysicists]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge]] [[Category:Murchison Medal winners]] [[Category:Alumni of Durham University Graduate Society]]