Grace Shephard

Dr. Grace Shephard is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Research School of Earth Sciences (RSES) at the Australian National University (ANU), hosted within the Geophysics-Geodynamics groups. She received her PhD from the University of Sydney's EarthByte Group and has held postdoctoral and research roles at Norwegian Centres of Excellence, including the Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED) and the Centre for Planetary Habitability (PHAB). Currently, she leads the POLARIS project, funded by the Norwegian Research Council, investigating the Arctic's evolution in deep time. Her research focuses on plate tectonics, mantle dynamics, and paleogeography, utilizing digital Earth models to explore geological processes over millions of years.

• Education: BSc (Adv.) (Honours I) and PhD from the University of Sydney
• Research Interests: Plate tectonics, paleogeography, mantle structure, GPlates software, science communication, and STEM education initiatives

Dr. Shephard is actively involved in science communication, advocating for accessible data visualization through initiatives like the Batlow color scheme and promoting STEM engagement through programs such as Curious Minds and STEMPals. Her work bridges computational geodynamics and observational geology, with contributions to understanding Arctic geology and mantle processes.

Notable projects include the Tasmanide Geodynamics and Mineral Systems and collaborations on the SVALGEOL project. She is affiliated with the University of Oslo as a Senior Researcher and contributes to open data and figure-sharing platforms like S-ink.org.