Selected Research Projects

My research has developed through projects spanning coal petrology, dispersed organic matter, thermally altered organic-rich rocks, graphite and new analytical approaches. The six projects below were selected because each opened a different scientific question or shaped how I approach the interpretation of organic and carbon materials.

• Emplacement to Extinction: Antarctica

Marsden Fund UOA2319 | 2024–2027

The Ferrar Large Igneous Province intruded organic-rich sedimentary rocks in Antarctica approximately 183 million years ago, close in time to the Toarcian extinction event. This project investigates the extent of crustal heating associated with the magmatism and whether the thermal alteration of coal, carbonaceous mudstone and shale could have released enough carbon dioxide and other volatiles to contribute to major environmental change.

My work includes field sampling in the Dry Valleys of Victoria Land; petrographic analysis of organic and mineral matter using optical and electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy; interpretation of contact and regional metamorphism and igneous emplacement; and integration of the results with palaeomagnetic data.

• Digital Petrographic Atlas of Australian Coals — Maintaining the Knowledge

Australian Coal Association Research Program, ACARP C33065 | 2021–2026

Coal petrography depends on specialist knowledge that is difficult to preserve through written descriptions alone. This project developed a digital reference and training resource that brings together scanned polished blocks, petrographic examples and the geological context of Australian coals.

I conceived and co-led the project, contributing to sample preparation, petrographic and mineralogical analysis, Atlas design and writing, and the integration of Bowen Basin geology with variations in coal composition and rank. The Atlas covers macerals, microlithotypes and minerals and is intended to make established knowledge more accessible to industry professionals, laboratories, researchers and students.

• Jundah Project — Toolebuc Formation

National Energy Resources Australia and Bridgeport Energy | 2019–2022

The thermal maturity of the Toolebuc Formation could not be fully explained using conventional approaches. The Jundah Project brought together petrography, organofacies and palynofacies analysis, reflectance, fluorescence, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, biomarker data and SEM–EDS observations to investigate the organic matter and fine-grained mineral matrix of the formation.

I managed sample collection and the analytical approach and worked with project partners to integrate the different datasets. The project examined spatial variations in thermal maturity and their implications for understanding hydrocarbon generation within the Eromanga Basin.

• Re-evaluation of Thermal Maturity in the McArthur Basin

Armour Energy and the Australian Government’s Innovation Connections program | 2016–2017

Evaluating thermal maturity in Proterozoic source rocks presents particular difficulties because their organic matter and geological history do not necessarily conform to models developed for younger sedimentary basins.

This project re-examined source rocks from the Tawallah and McArthur groups in the southern McArthur Basin. My work included core selection and sampling, petrographic analysis of the organic matter, adaptation of the conventional van Krevelen diagram to account for the behaviour of Proterozoic material, examination of sulphide mineralisation using SEM–EDS, and integration of the results within the wider geological history of the basin. The project required thermal maturity, organic-matter composition, mineralisation and basin evolution to be considered together rather than as separate lines of interpretation.

• Coal Spectral Libraries for Scanning Devices

Australian Coal Association Research Program, ACARP C28045 | 2019–2021

Spectral libraries are widely used to support automated mineral identification, but comparable reference libraries for coal had not been developed. This project investigated how coal responds across the short-wave, mid-wave and long-wave infrared regions and how those responses relate to coal rank and composition.

I conceived and led the project, combining hyperspectral core scanning with chemical analysis, petrography and micro-FTIR. The resulting coal spectral library provides a reference for interpreting the spectral response of organic matter and supports more informed use of rapid scanning technologies in coal characterisation.

• From Anthracite to Graphitic Materials

PhD research, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | 2008–2012

My PhD research examined whether anthracites from different geological settings could be used as precursors for graphitic materials and how their original properties influenced their capacity to graphitise.

Anthracite samples from several basins were carbonised and treated at temperatures of up to 2,500 °C. The resulting materials were characterised using optical, chemical and physical methods and compared with natural and synthetic graphite. The work explored the progressive transformation from coal towards increasingly ordered carbon structures and established the scientific foundation for my continuing interest in thermally altered coal, graphitisation and natural carbon materials.