Jeff Wilson

I was previously Head of the Division of Soils and Soil Microbiology at the Macaulay Institute, and am now an Honorary Research Fellow, with over 40 years experience in research on the chemistry and mineralogy of soils and rocks in relation to properties and behaviour from both agricultural and environmental points of view. I have published over 200 papers and compiled and edited four books in these areas. I have a wide experience of soils in many different countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, both from working visits and collaboration with visiting research workers. I was awarded the first Schlumberger Medal for excellence in mineralogical research and its applications by the Mineralogical Society in 1990 and gave the 4^th George Brown Lecture to the Society in 2003. In June 2005 I received the Bailey Award of the Clay Minerals Society of America and was made a Distinguished Member of the Society. The Bailey Award is the premier award of the Clay Minerals Society and is given only on grounds of scientific excellence. I am currently writing a text book on clay minerals which will be published by the Geological Society of London as part of the series on Rock Forming Minerals compiled by Deer, Howie and Zussman.

I taught soil mineralogy at BSc and MSc levels for over 10 years at the University of Aberdeen where I was an Honorary Reader. I am an Honorary Professor of Zhejiang Agricultural University in Hangzhou, China. I taught a soil mineralogy course to MSc students at the University of Naples and contributed to Summer Schools for students under the aegis of the British Council and EUROLAT (a network of European scientists interested in research on laterites). I have also taught a course on clay mineralogy and its application to the oil industry for a major oil service company in Aberdeen

I was awarded the degree of DSc from the University of Wales in 1983 and was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1985.