Marie Edmonds is a distinguished scholar and leader in the field of Earth sciences, renowned for her expertise in volcanic processes and their environmental impacts. She currently serves as Head of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge, a position she assumed in 2024, and holds a Chair in Volcanology and Petrology. Previously, she served as Deputy Head of Department and Director of Research, demonstrating her growing influence within the academic community. Edmonds completed her entire formal education at Cambridge, earning a Bachelor's degree in Geological Sciences with first-class honors in 1997 followed by a PhD in Volcanology in 2002, where her doctoral research focused on sulfur and chlorine emissions from the Soufriere Hills Volcano in Montserrat.
Professor Edmonds has made significant contributions to our understanding of volcanic processes by integrating approaches from volcanology, igneous petrology, tectonics, and atmospheric science. Her research has pioneered new insights into magma degassing, transport, and storage in the Earth's crust, fundamentally advancing volcano monitoring techniques and eruption forecasting capabilities. She has established critical connections between volcanic eruptions and their broader environmental impacts, particularly regarding volatile cycling in the solid Earth as mediated by plate tectonics. Her work spans multiple disciplines to investigate how volcanic gases influence atmospheric chemistry and climate, while also examining the role of magmatic processes in forming economically important ore deposits.
As a respected leader in the international scientific community, Edmonds has been recognized with numerous prestigious honors including her election as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2025 and membership in the American Geophysical Union College of Fellows. She currently serves as Vice President and Ron Oxburgh Fellow in Earth Sciences at Queens' College, Cambridge, where she actively mentors the next generation of earth scientists. Her research continues to address critical questions about the relationship between volcanic activity, climate change, and sustainable resource use, with implications for both scientific understanding and public policy. Professor Edmonds remains committed to advancing knowledge of Earth's dynamic systems while fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in earth sciences today.
