Professor Robert Hilton appointed Professor of Geography at the School of Geography and the Environment
The School of Geography and the Environment (SoGE) at the University of Oxford is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Robert Hilton as Professor of Geography and fellow of Hertford College with effect from 1 January 2026.
Professor Robert (Bob) Hilton is an internationally recognised carbon cycle geochemist who brings extensive global expertise and experience to the SoGE community. He will hold the original statutory chair previously occupied by David S.G. Thomas, Andrew Goudie, Jean Gottmann, E.W. Gilbert and Kenneth Mason.
Prof Bob Hilton said:
"It is a great honour to be appointed to the statutory chair in Physical Geography. I am very excited to join such a vibrant and interdisciplinary community, and I look forward to new collaborations across the SoGE and wider University to help advance our understanding of the carbon cycle in a changing world."
Prof Giles Wiggs, Head of the School of Geography and the Environment, said:
"I am delighted to welcome Bob to the School where his world-class expertise in carbon cycle geochemistry will forge exciting new research and teaching collaborations to our existing portfolio. Bob’s research represents a vital contribution to our understanding of the complex and dynamic feedbacks that exist across the earth system and his research at SoGE will offer demonstrable impact in the University and beyond."
Prior to joining SoGE, Bob was Professor of Sedimentary Geology and Associate Head of Research at the Department of Earth Sciences and Fellow and Tutor in Earth Sciences at St Peter's College, Oxford. He holds a PhD in Earth Sciences, specialising in geochemistry and geomorphology, from the University of Cambridge. Following a year as a postdoctoral research and teaching fellow at L'Institut de Physique du Globe, Paris, he spent 12 years at Durham University, as a Lecturer, Reader and Professor in Geography, before joining the University of Oxford in 2021.
Bob's research focuses on the carbon cycle and how the exchange of carbon between the atmosphere and rocks responds to, and drives, climate change. Bob currently leads the RIV-ESCAPE project, which aims to better constrain greenhouse gas release from river surfaces across Arctic landscapes. His research has been recognised with the 2019 Leverhulme Prize, a Finalist in Chemistry of the 2018 Blavatnik Awards, the 2016 Chinese Academy Sciences International Partnership Award for Young Scientists, and the 2014 Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the European Geosciences Union.
Bob succeeds Professor David S.G. Thomas who was Professor of Geography from 2004 until 2025.
Professor Robert Hilton appointed Professor of Geography at the School of Geography and the Environment
The School of Geography and the Environment (SoGE) at the University of Oxford is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Robert Hilton as Professor of Geography and fellow of Hertford College with effect from 1 January 2026.
