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“I have always been fascinated by the origin of our natural world, particularly the rocks that record Earth’s history. I grew up in the Lake District National Park in northwest England which provided ample opportunity to explore this renowned area of natural beauty.

My first true research experience was my undergraduate thesis at Durham University examining the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall. Through field-based mapping, I uncovered the beginnings of this segment of Earth’s crust from the deep ocean that is now exposed in southwest England. After graduation I worked as an outdoor education instructor in Yorkshire, developing a passion for teaching outdoors and also the intrigue of geological processes. This led me to undertake a Ph.D. at Durham University on the opening of the North Atlantic. My Ph.D. took me to Labrador to investigate its separation from Greenland and left me with unanswered questions that I then pursued at the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

My move to McMaster University represents my first time not living on the edge of a continent. This comes with new and exciting research topics as I apply the concepts and approaches I have used previously to this new part of the world.”

Alex Peace is a structural geologist with an interest in extensional tectonic processes. Alex’s research is supported in part by the D. Keith MacDonald Structural Geology Advancement Fund, established this past summer by Keith and Traci MacDonald. Alex holds a Bachelor of Science and a Ph.D. in Geology from Durham University in the United Kingdom. Alex was previously a postdoctoral fellow in structural geology and applied geophysics with the Memorial Applied Geophysics for Rift Tectonics group at the Memorial University of Newfoundland where he also taught 4th year Marine Geology and 2nd-year Structural Geology courses. When not studying geoscience, Alex enjoys rock climbing, cycling, fishing, and martial arts.