Alan Collins

Professor Alan Collins is the Douglas Mawson Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Adelaide, leading the Tectonics and Earth Systems Group. He holds a BSc (Hons.) from Imperial College London (1993) and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh (1997). His research focuses on plate tectonics' deep-time evolution, particularly the formation of Gondwana and Earth's surface systems' interactions with the deep Earth. He has held roles at Leicester University, Curtin University, and UWA before joining Adelaide in 2005 as a Senior Lecturer, promoted to Professor in 2014. Collins is an ARC Laureate Fellow (2024) and has received the S.W. Carey Medal (2021) and Douglas Mawson Professorship. His work integrates geochronology, structural geology, and paleomagnetism to address questions about continental collisions, sedimentary basins, and global tectonic reconstructions. Key projects include the East African Orogen's evolution, Neoproterozoic Gondwana amalgamation, and Proterozoic basin stratigraphy in Australia and Madagascar. He actively supervises students and collaborates internationally, emphasizing fieldwork and interdisciplinary approaches. His recent awards include the 2024 ARC Laureate Fellowship and Fellowships from leading geoscience institutions.

• Education: BSc (Hons.) Imperial College London, PhD University of Edinburgh
• Major Roles: TES Group Leader, ARC Laureate Fellow, Douglas Mawson Chair

Research interests span tectonic geography, Ediacaran-Cambrian glaciation impacts, and Proterozoic sedimentary systems. His work on the McArthur Basin, Adelaide Superbasin, and East African Orogen has advanced understanding of continental evolution. Awards highlight contributions to lithosphere dynamics and tectonic modeling. Collins leads initiatives in geochronology techniques like in situ Rb-Sr dating and is a prominent voice in global plate tectonic reconstructions.