After completing my PhD at the University of Sydney and a post doctoral position in collaboration with TOTAL, I started a position with ExxonMobil in 2007.

Palaeo-Stress Modelling

Using the engineering finite element modelling software package ABAQUS I modelled the horizontal compressive stress of the Indo-Australian plate for time periods dating from the Eocene. This work was carried out as part of the Tectonic Reactivation and Palaeo-Stress (TRAPS) project in collaboration with Shell, BHP Billiton, Woodside Petroleum and SANTOS in order to create a framework for predicting the tectonic reactivation of faults. The research can also been utilised by gold mining companies to assist exploration and may also prove very useful to seismic studies of Australia.

Lithospheric Basin Extension Modelling


Using the particle in cell finite element modelling software Ellipsis I undertook numerous studies into the effects that various types of initial weakness have on the rift geometry of the lithosphere during basin extension. Utilising the software programs Ellipsis and Nimrod together many thousands of Ellipsis models were run in order to acertain the relative importance of processes involved in continental rifting. Work on a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the Ellipsis program was also done which allows the program itself to become much more accessible and hopefully a valuable teaching tool for geodynamicists the world over.