Sir Stephen Sparks CBE FRS

Steve Sparks has been a Professor of Geology at the University of Bristol since 1989. His research interests are in volcanology and the applications of fluid mechanics in modelling geological flows and applying statistical methods to the assessment of natural hazards and their attendant risks. He was recipient of the 2015 Vetlesen Prize, regarded as equivalent to the "Nobel Prize"for the earth sciences and received the Royal Medal (Physical Sciences) in 2018. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Natural History Museum. He is a former Chair of the Advisory Committee for Mathematics Education (ACME).

Subject groups

  • Earth and Environmental Sciences

    Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry

Awards

  • Bakerian Medal and Lecture

    On 'How volcanoes work'.

  • Royal Medal

    For his contributions to our understanding of volcanoes, including evaluating their risks and mitigating their hazards.

Sir Stephen Sparks CBE FRS
Elected 1988

Committees

Participated Role
Hooke Committee January 1999 - December 2005 Chair
Research Appointment Panel A(i) January 2001 - December 2001 Member
Council December 1993 - November 1994 Member
Summer Science Exhibition Committee January 2020 - December 2005 Ex-Officio
Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Sr. R'search F'ship Panel January 2011 - December 2013 Member
Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (RS ACME) January 2012 - February 2015 Chair
Council January 2014 - November 2017 Member
Education Committee January 2016 - December 2017 Member
Joint Academy Educational Research Project Working Group June 2016 - December 2017 Member
Nominations Committee January 2018 - June 2019 Member
Sectional Committee 5: Earth & environmental sciences December 2002 - November 2005 Member
Research Appointment Panel A(i) January 1994 - December 1996 Member
Education Committee September 2012 - May 2015 Ex-Officio