Graham Pearson

D. Graham Pearson FRS is a British geologist and geochemist, who is best known for his work using isotopic tracers and characteristics of diamonds to understand the composition and evolution of the mantle roots underpinning continents and the interior of the Earth. Since 2010, he has been a Professor and Canada Excellence in Research Chair at the University of Alberta, Canada. He was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society in 2023.^[1][2]

Pearson was born in West Yorkshire.^[3] He completed his undergraduate degree in geology at Imperial College, London, and then undertook a PhD in isotope geochemistry at the University of Leeds. After holding research positions at the Carnegie Institution of Washington and the Open University, Pearson was appointed to a lectureship at the University of Durham. In 2010, he was appointed to as a prestigious Canada Excellence in Research Chair at the University of Alberta, Canada, where he guides a notable team and established and leads the Arctic Resources Geochemistry Laboratory - one of the largest and most advanced facilities of its kind in the world.^[1]

Pearson's work has been recognised with numerous awards. In 2017, he was awarded the Robert Wilhelm Bunsen medal of the European Geosciences Union, for his outstanding contributions to the understanding of the sub-continental mantle, and innovations in geochemical techniques.^[4] In 2021, he received the Murchison Medal from the Geological Society of London for his studies of the deep Earth and planetary materials,^[3] and in 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.