Hugh O'Neill is an earth scientist whose career has focused on experimental petrology and geochemistry - the study of the composition of rocks and their minerals, in order to understand the geological processes leading to their formation. His work stands out due to his use of careful laboratory measurements of the thermodynamic and transport properties of Earth materials, employing a wide variety of experimental and analytical methods. He has contributed to the development of several of these methods. He has used the information from such measurements to address key questions relating to our planet, including how rocky planets form, the chemical composition of Earth, its differentiation by igneous activity, how and why it differs from other planets, and the origin of the Moon.
Hugh has been awarded the Schlumberger medal of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, the Bunsen Medal of the European Union of Geosciences, the Bowen medal of the American Geophysical Union and the Ringwood medal of the Geological Society of Australia. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences, the American Geophysical Union, the Mineralogical Society of America, and the Geochemical Society.
Professional position
- Research Professor, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University
Subject groups
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Earth and Environmental Sciences
Geochemistry, Geology, Planetary science
