Anthony Kemp

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Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholar

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“Almost half of the Australian continent, as well as some major economic mineral deposits, formed between 1900-1500 million years ago (the ‘Proterozoic era’) during a global pulse of igneous activity, but why this occurred is uncertain.”

Dr Tony Kemp, an ARC Research Fellow at James Cook University, will have the opportunity to carry out research in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Washington State University, thanks to a Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship. Tony’s research, Hafnium isotope constraints on the Proterozoic Crustal Evolution of Australia, will seek to understand what caused the rapid growth of the Australian continent during the Proterozoic era – 1.9 to 1.5 billion years ago.

“The research I will conduct is about understanding what caused the rapid Proterozoic continental growth, by unravelling the origin of igneous rocks of this age in northern Australia. I hope to achieve this by the analysis of zircon crystals for hafnium isotopes, which are a powerful tracer of crustal processes and uniquely preserve the record of ancient continental growth.”

“The datasets that will be generated in this project will potentially lead to refined mineral exploration strategies, and the resulting technical experience will expedite development of a new analytical facility at James Cook University that will support Australian research and research training,” explains Tony.

Tony is basing himself at Washington State University as it has specialised, state-of-the-art analytical laboratories dedicated to isotope studies he will use in his research. He will have the opportunity to work with Professor Jeff Vervoort, who is an international authority on radiogenic isotope geochemistry and has much expertise in crustal evolutionary studies on ancient rocks.

Tony holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Geology from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from La Trobe University. Upon completing his undergraduate studies he was awarded the D.M. Myers University Medal, and an Australian Postgraduate Award to pursue PhD research. He has previously been a Research Fellow at both the Niigata University in Japan and the University of Bristol, UK. In 2006 he received an ARC Research Fellowship and he is well published with 16 peer-reviewed publications in local and international journals, including two in the prestigious journal Nature and one in Science.

Tony’s passion for rocks started at a young age, when he recalls marveling at the iridescent colour in a broken ironstone nodule found in the playground. This passion has never stopped and the constant thread throughout his life has been a burning desire to understand the formation of rocks and the inner workings of the Earth.