Daniel Gibson

Dr. Daniel Gibson is a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Earth Sciences at Simon Fraser University. His research focuses on crustal processes in mountain-building (orogenesis), particularly in the Canadian Cordillera and Canadian Shield. He holds a Ph.D. from Carleton University (2003) and has extensive field-based expertise in structural geology, metamorphic petrology, and U-Th-Pb geochronology. He is a co-author of the textbook Physical Geology – The Science of Earth: Canadian Edition (2014).

His research combines fieldwork with advanced lab techniques, including petrochronology and in-situ U-Th-Pb analysis of minerals like monazite and zircon. Key research areas include the tectonic evolution of collisional orogens, deformation mechanisms in mid-lower crustal rocks, and the application of geochronology to unravel orogenic processes. Current field projects span Harrison Lake, Okanagan Valley, Northern Selkirk Mountains, Yukon, and the Southern Rae Craton.

Gibson supervises graduate students in the Petrology and Tectonics Research Group, focusing on integrated training in structural geology and metamorphic petrology. His 20+ peer-reviewed articles include studies of mid-Cretaceous orogenic wedges, Jurassic-Cretaceous tectonometamorphism, and the Dave Elliot Award-winning analysis of multi-stage garnet in Yukon. He teaches courses such as Global Tectonics and Applied Geochronology, and his lab is located in TASC1 7413.