Rate My Professor Neville Exon

Neville Exon is Professor of Marine Geology at the Australian National University in the Research School of Earth Sciences. He obtained his PhD from the University of Kiel in 1971, initially studying Baltic Sea sediments before shifting focus to Australian continental margins and Southwest Pacific geology. Exon's research specializations encompass marine geology, marine geophysics, sedimentary cycles, basin geology, ocean drilling, paleoceanography, and passive continental margins. Early in his career, he mapped sedimentary basins in Queensland during the 1960s. At ANU, he has held positions including researcher and served as the Australian and New Zealand IODP Program Scientist starting in 2008. He contributed significantly to Australia's participation in the International Ocean Discovery Program, acting as a lead proponent for drilling proposals that resulted in key expeditions.

Exon edited the book 'Exploring the Earth under the Sea: Australian and New Zealand achievements in the first phase of IODP Scientific Ocean Drilling, 2008–2013,' published by ANU Press in 2017, documenting regional contributions to global scientific ocean drilling efforts. His key publications include 'Geology of the Surat Basin in Queensland' (1976, 373 citations), 'The Cretaceous of the Eromanga and Surat Basins' (1976, 151 citations), 'The Westralian superbasin: an Australian link with Tethys' (1987, 123 citations), 'Leg 189 synthesis: Cretaceous–Holocene history of the Tasmanian gateway' (2004, 117 citations), and 'Sedimentary cycles in the Surat Basin and global changes of sea level' (1981, 106 citations). Other notable works cover scientific ocean drilling in the Australasian region (2021), scientific ocean drilling capabilities (2015), and paleoclimate research in Australia (2015). In 2008, Exon received the Stillwell Award for the best written paper from the Geological Society of Australia. His extensive publications and involvement in IODP expeditions have advanced understanding of submarine plateaus, ocean basin evolution, and tsunami hazards along Australia's eastern continental slope. Exon participated in book launches and workshops, including the Southwest Pacific IODP Workshop in 2012 and Australasian IODP planning in 2017.