Qualifications

B.Sc. (Hons. Geology) Class 2, Div. 1, University of Durham, U.K., 1971. Click here to download Honours Dissertation THE GEOLOGY OF THE AREA ROUND CRUMMACK DALE NEAR AUSTWICK YORKSHIRE
Ph.D. University of Leeds, U.K., 1976 (Earth Sciences). Click here to download PhD Thesis THE CONODONT BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF THE LOWER CARBONIFEROUS SEDIMENTS OF THE SKIPTON ANTICLINE AND CRAVEN LOWLANDS

Career History:

2008 - Present. Adjunct Professor, Earth Sciences, School of Environmental & Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale.
2001- 2008 Independent Contractor – Consultant to UNE as Deputy Director, Asia Centre, University of New England, Armidale.
2002 –2003 Professor, Research & International Division, University of New England, Armidale.
2002 - 2008 Adjunct Professor, Asia Centre, University of New England, Armidale.
2000- 2008 Program Director, University of New England Research Initiative Environmental and Social Impacts of Resource Development in Asia.
1999-2001 Wellcome Trust Research Fellow (Half-time), School of Economics, University of New England, Armidale.
1999-2001 Adjunct Associate Professor, Asia Centre, University of New England, Armidale.
1998 (Feb.) Agency of Industrial Science and Technology of Japan Visiting Fellow, Geological Survey of Japan, Tsukuba, Japan.
1997-1998 Associate Professor, Department of Geology & Geophysics/Division of Earth Sciences. University of New England, Armidale.
1996- Present. Visiting Fellow/Hon Associate, School of Earth Sciences, Macquarie University.
1996 Visiting Professor, Université d'Orléans, France (January/February, 1996)
1993-96 Senior Lecturer, Dept. Geology & Geophysics, Univ. New England, Armidale.
1994 Visiting Fellow, Dept. Geology, Australian National University (July-December)
1992-95 Science Coordinator, International Ocean Drilling Program Australian Secretariat.
1991-96 Honorary Research Fellow, Dept. Geology & Geophysics, Univ. New England.
1990 Visiting Fellow, Dept. Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, U.K.
1988-89 Senior Lecturer (Superscale G), Institute of Advanced Studies, Univ.Malaya.
1985-87 Senior Lecturer (Superscale G), Dept. Geology, National University of Malaysia.
1984-85 Research Associate, Dept. Geology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.
1979 Visiting Fellow, Dept. Geology, Nottingham University, U.K. (3 months)
1977-84 Lecturer, Department of Geology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.

Research Experience and expertise:
Ian Metcalfe's research experience covers earth sciences (particularly relating to East and Southeast Asia and more recently Australia), social sciences/economic history (including gender, labour and migration studies), climate-change and environmental studies, and research management. His international reputation is chiefly for earth science and multidisciplinary studies relating to East (mainly China) and Southeast Asia.

Prof. Metcalfe's most significant research contributions are in regional & global tectonics, palaeogeography, palaeontology (conodont and radiolarian biostratigraphy, and mass extinction) and timescale calibration studies, both by provision of new fundamental data and through development of testable models and applied multi-disciplinary data acquisition for model evaluation and testing. His work on the continental lithospheric terranes and suture zones of E and SE Asia is at the international forefront of global tectonic research. His model for the successive rifting and separation of three continental slivers from Gondwanaland, their northwards drift and subsequent amalgamation to form Asia, with the opening and closure of Palaeo-Tethys, Meso-Tethys and Ceno-Tethys ocean basins, has received wide acceptance. This 3-Tethys model for evolution of E and SE Asia and his Palaeozoic and Mesozoic palaeogeographic reconstructions have been widely adopted and have provided an ongoing and evolving framework for international global reconstruction and deep earth resources research for the last 30 years. He has also made fundamental contributions to collisional tectonics and ocean plate tectonics.

Contributions to conodont biostratigraphy began with the first comprehensive conodont zonation for the Lower Carboniferous of northern England now incorporated into global zonation schemes. Conodont work in SE Asia, China, Australia and U.K. has led to significant contributions (80 publications) to conodont biostratigraphy, biogeography, stratigraphy (especially Permian-Triassic) and tectonic utility of conodonts. He has led international multidisciplinary collaborative research on both the marine and non-marine Permian-Triassic boundary and mass extinction in China and Australia, and reported the first conodonts from the Permian-Triassic boundary transition in Australia. This work has provided important new constraints on the age and correlation of the boundary and the age and tempo of the mass extinction, and demonstrated coincidence (suggesting a causative link) with the Siberian Traps massive volcanism. New fundamental insights and techniques for U-Pb zircon isotope geochronology and calibration of U-Pb and Ar-Ar isotopic systems are outcomes of this work.

Wider research interest in Asia includes social sciences/economic history and environmental research projects and he was Wellcome Trust Research Fellow for three years (1991-2001) working on a project on “Women workers in industrialising Asia”. Prof Metcalfe was Deputy Director of the Asia Centre at the University of New England from 1999-2008, and Program Director for the UNE Research Initiative “Environmental and Social Impacts of Resource Development in Asia”. He has also coordinated and partly delivered major research management in agriculture training course Master Classes on behalf of UNE in collaboration with the Academy of Technological and Engineering Sciences (ATSE) Crawford Fund and coordinated UNE Asia Centre in-country research management in agriculture training courses run in Vietnam, Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and The Philippines.

Number of Publications: 328 publications: 6 books/research monographs, 19 book chapters, 122 refereed journal articles, 110 abstracts, 51 non-refereed journal articles, 8 book reviews, 12 edited journal volumes plus general audience articles. Published works are highly cited (10,655 citations in Google Scholar; h-index=40; i-10 index=102 as at 26/7/2020). Prof Metcalfe's paper on Environmental Concerns for Bangladesh topped the Taylor & Francis most electronically accessed South Asia papers for 2005. His paper Gondwanaland dispersion, Asian accretion and evolution of eastern Tethys (1996) is one of the most cited/viewed papers in the Australian Journal of Earth Sciences. His paper Tectonic framework and Phanerozoic evolution of Sundaland was awarded Best Paper & Gold Medal for 2011 and is one of the most cited papers in Gondwana Research (Impact Factor = 8.743). His paper, Gondwana dispersion and Asian accretion: Tectonic and palaeogeographic evolution of eastern Tethys, is currently (as at 29/5/17) the most downloaded and most cited paper in Journal of Asian Earth Sciences

Research & Travel Grants: Prof. Metcalfe has received more than $4.4 million for research and research management activities. He has been awarded nine Australian Research Council (ARC) grants including four Large/Discovery, two small, and three LIEF infrastructure grants. For six of these Prof Metcalfe was Chief CI and research team leader. In addition to ARC grants, he has also received University, and Industry Grants (Shell, Esso, Normandy, BHP, Centennial Coal, Santos), ATSE Crawford Fund, ACIAR and AusAID grants. He has additionally received some $50,000 in grants/grants-in-aid to attend and present keynote papers at overseas international conferences/seminars since 1983..  In addition he has also received more modest support to attend national conferences/workshops/seminars.

Lecturing/Student Supervision: Teaching/supervision has included all aspects of palaeontology, micropalaeontology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, petroleum geology, regional geology of Southeast Asia, evolution of Australia's continental margins, tectonics, engineering geology, environmental geology and introductory geology at all undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Prof Metcalfe has also acted as external examiner for both Masters and Ph.D. theses in Malaysia and Australia.

Administrative Experience: Ian Metcalfe's principal administrative experience has been as Science Coordinator for the Australian Secretariat of the International Ocean Drilling Program (ODP), 1992 to 1995, as Secretary for the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) Sub-Commission on Carboniferous Stratigraphy (SCCS), 1996-2000, as Deputy Director of the UNE Asia Centre, 2001 to 2008, and as Senior Project Manager and Acting Manager, Research Services, University of New England, 2002-03. This has involved supervision of staff, organising/chairing various committee meetings, distribution of information and publications, liaising with other ODP and IUGS/ICS Secretariats and University administrative units, financial management (annual budget of $1.58 million in the case of ODP), the writing of ODP and SCCS Newsletters and reports, drafting of Research Proposals and applications to the ARC, conducting formal votes and organising subcommission field and general meetings on behalf of the SCCS. Other administrative experience involves the direction of substantial research projects, including co-leadership of UNESCO International Geological Correlation Program Projects, and supervision of research teams including Postdoctoral Fellows and Research Assistants and both Australian and overseas collaborating scientists. He has also, on occasions, been Acting Head of the Geology & Geophysics Department at UNE.

Editorial Roles: Prof Metcalfe is former Editor for the Elsevier journals  Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, and Gondwana Research. He is currently an Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, Australian Journal of Earth Sciences and Bulletin of the Geological Society of Malaysia.     He was Editor of the annual Newsletter on Carboniferous Stratigraphy 1992-95. He has edited Special Issues of the Journal of Southeast Asian Earth Sciences, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, South Asia, International Journal on Multicultural Societies and Asian Studies Review. He is Editor/Senior Co-editor of two A.A. Balkema books, Gondwana Dispersion and Asian Accretion, and Faunal and floral migrations and evolution in SE Asia-Australasia and Co-Editor for The Shaping of Malaysia, Macmillan, 1998, and Mobility, Labour Migration and Border Controls in Asia, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. He was also Editor of the UNE electronic journal UNEAC Asia Papers, 2001-2008.

National Recognition & International Standing: Durham University Geology Fieldwork Prize, 1969, Fearnsides Prize (Research), Yorkshire Geological Society, 1975. University of New England Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Achievement, 1998. Invited keynote/plenary speaker (expenses paid), at international conferences in the U.K., USA, Canada, Japan, France, Netherlands, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, New Zealand and Australia and at many overseas and Australian universities/institutions, including Geoscience Australia, the CSIRO and the Geological Society of Australia. Prestigious IGCP Lecturer at the 13th Australian Geological Convention, 1996. Voting Member (1996-), and Secretary (1996-2000), International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) Sub-Commission on Carboniferous Stratigraphy. Convenor/Member of organising committees for eighteen international conferences. Co-Leader, IUGS IGCP Projects 321 "Gondwana dispersion & Asian accretion" (1991-96) and 411 “Geodynamics of Gondwanaland-derived terranes in East and South Asia” (1998-2002) and participant in IGCP Projects 306, 359, 350 and 421. Member, Plate Reconstruction Working Group, IUGS Project Pangea.  Invited participant in the global chronostratigraphy project CHRONOS. International and National Assessor (25-30 per year) for the ARC (International and Oz Reader - Discovery & Linkage Grants, Fellowships & Centres of Excellence) and Dept. Industry Trade & Commerce, National Science Foundations, U.S.A., Austria, Israel, Natural Environment Research Council, U.K. Visiting Fellow/Professor at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Nottingham, U.K., Universite d’Orleans, France, Australian National and Macquarie Universities, Australia, and Geological Survey of Japan. Science Coordinator, International Ocean Drilling Program Australian Secretariat, 1992-95. External examiner for higher degree theses in Australia and overseas. External assessor for professorial promotions in Australia and overseas. Consultant to petroleum and mineral exploration companies and ABC TV, BBC and TV New Zealand. Featured interview by Robyn Williams on the ABC Science Show, 2005. Keynote Public Lecturer at Te Papa National Museum of New Zealand 2006 on Triassic catastrophes and their consequences. Other media coverage of research in national and local newspapers, radio and TV. Referee for leading international journals (including Nature, Science, Geology, Earth & Planetary Science Letters, Gondwana Research, Earth Science Reviews, Palaeo-3, Lithos) Member, Australian Academy of Science National Committee for Solid Earth Sciences (1997-2000). Member, Science Advisory Council, Center for Stratigraphy and Palaeontology, China Geological Survey (2001-). Commissioned to write “Regional Geology: Asia, South-east” for the Encyclopedia of Geology, 2005. Stilwell Award Nominee for outstanding paper, Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2009. Gondwana Research Best Paper & Gold Medal for 2011.