Dei Huws

Room: 306 Craig Mair
Phone: 01248 382523
E-mail: [email protected]
ResearchGate

I am a Reader (Teacher and Scholarship) in Marine Geophysics here at the School of Ocean Sciences. I graduated from the University of Leicester in 1986 with a degree in Geology with Geophysics and went on from there to complete the Masters course in Marine Geotechnics at SOS. After this, I worked as a Research Assistant on two EU funded research projects and resulting from this was my PhD thesis entitled, 'Measurement and analysis of shear wave velocity in marine sediments', completed in 1992. I was then appointed as a Research Officer in Marine Geophysics, before being promoted to lecturer in 2001 and my present position in 2022. 

I teach across all Levels, generally in geosience and specifically in marine geophysics.

I offer practical research projects in relation to the use of geophysics in offshore engineering and palaeoclimate studies.

I am Programme Director for the MSc in Applied Marine Geoscience and MSci in Geological Oceanography.

As School Director of Teaching and Learning, I'm also interested in ensuring that all programme curricula are up-to-date and well-delivered by staff.  I coordinate the activies of our Teaching and Scholarship staff and ensure that both they and the Teaching and Research staff are well supported in delivering their teaching.  I also have a role in Quality Assurance across our modules and programmes.

I have a 0.2 role as Learning and Teaching Development Leader (Assessment and Feedback) across the University, as part of the Centre of the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT). This involves coordinating attempts to facilitate review processes, contributing to CPD sessions, working with the Students' Union and the Quality Enhancement Unit, running and University's Module Evaluation survey etc.

Research Interests

My current research interests are focussed around the use of high resolution geophysical methods with applications in three fields: (i) tropical palaeo-climate studies in relation to hominin evolution and migration; (ii) marine archaeological studies and (iii) marine engineering applications.  Specifically, I have been involved in a number of studies based in northern Ethiopia that have investigated the inter-relationship between past climates and the migratory history of early homo sapiens; and more recently a study in southern Ethiopia that broadens the link to also include deeper-time evolutionary events and culture developments.  I’m also interested in palaeoenvironmenal reconstruction more broadly, but in the context of submerged landscapes e.g. working around the Orkney Isles.  Previous to this, and still with an interest, my research was aimed at bridging the gap between the geophysical and geotechnical properties of marine sediments – specifically by using shear waves and Love waves in the marine environment.

Research Groups

• Earth System Science and Climate Change