Professor Petts has been
Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of Westminster since 1
August 2007.
He studied Physical Geography and Geology at the University of
Liverpool and gained his PhD at Southampton University. He was
appointed to a Lectureship at Loughborough University in 1979, was
awarded a Chair in 1989, and became Head of Department in
1991.
In 1994 he moved to the University of Birmingham as Professor of
Physical Geography and Director of Environmental Research and
Management. Two years later, he founded that University’s Centre
for Environmental Research and Training (CERT). He was appointed
Pro Vice-Chancellor at Birmingham in 2002, before taking up his
appointment as Vice-Chancellor at Westminster.
Geoff has established a reputation for inter-disciplinary
research that engages stakeholders to identify key problems and
then focuses on fundamental studies to develop the next generation
of tools to tackle these problems. This approach has become the
‘brand’ of CERT at Birmingham.
His own research is at the interface of hydrology, geomorphology
and ecology to address the sustainable development of water
projects. His publications include 20 books and over 100 scientific
papers. He is founder and Editor-in-Chief of the international
journal River Research and Applications (www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/rra).
Professor Petts has held a number of external appointments
including a term as a Director of the International Water Resources
Association (1992-94) and Council Member of the Freshwater
Biological Association (2000-2003).
He has been a member of several scientific advisory committees
including the International Council for Science (ICSU) Scientific
Committee on Water Research; UNESCO IHP Eco-Hydrology Programme;
and US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service,
Long-term Monitoring Programme for the upper Mississippi
River.
Currently, Professor Petts is a Member of the NERC Centre for
Ecology and Hydrology Programme Development Group, Vice President
of the new International Society for River Science and an advisor
to the US Nature Conservancy’s Great Rivers Partnership.
In 2007, he was awarded the Busk Medal of the Royal Geographical
Society for his contributions to inter-disciplinary research on
river conservation.