David is an experienced research geoscientist and energy industry executive who has studied and worked across the UK, North America, and Australia. He holds a D.Phil. in Marine Geophysics from the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and a B.Sc. (Hons 1st Class) from the University of Tasmania. David has extensive technical, commercial, and operational experience, and has led stakeholder engagement, land access, management and environmental approvals on a variety of projects. David has extensive expertise in the international and domestic oil and gas industry and has a deep interest in the broader energy industry, and energy and environmental policies.
David's arrival at UQ coincides with a pivotal phase in the energy transition. The Centre plays a vital role in undertaking leading-edge, independent and rigorous research to inform the natural gas and broader energy industry as it responds to the various national and international social, technical, economic and environmental challenges of decarbonisation through the energy transition, as well as informing new energy projects and technologies.