Person
Metcalfe, Ian (1949 - 2023)
- Born
- 1949
Yorkshire, United Kingdom - Died
- 21 December 2023
Sydney, New South Wales, Austalia - Occupation
- Geologist
- Website
- https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3538-1686
Summary
Ian Metcalfe was a geologist who made significant contributions in the fields of regional and global tectonics, palaeogeography, palaeontology (particularly microfossils and mass extinctions), and geologic timescale calibration studies. Much of his research centred on east and southeast Asia and more recently Australia. He developed a Three-Tethys model for the evolution of Asia which provided a foundational framework for global reconstruction and deep Earth resources research. Other areas in which he made substantial contributions include collisional and ocean plate tectonics. Metcalfe was at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, for 14 years before joining the University of New England in 1991. Between 1999 and 2008 he was Deputy Director of the University's Asia Centre. Active in international organisations, Metcalfe was Science Coordinator of the Australian Secretariat of the International Ocean Drilling Program, and Co-leader of the Gondwana dispersion and Asian accretion and the Geodynamics of Gondwanaland-derived terranes in East and South Asia committees , joint initiatives of UNESCO and the International Geological Correlation Programme.
Details
Chronology
- 1971
- Education - BSc (hons), University of Durham, United Kingdom
- 1976
- Education - PhD, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
- 1977 - 1990
- Career position - Lecturer, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- 1991 - 1996
- Career position - Co-leader, IGCP Project 321 (Gondwana dispersion & Asian accretion), UNESCO and International Geological Correlation Programme
- 1991 - 2004
- Career position - Senior Lecturer (later Professor), University of New England
- 1992 - 1995
- Career position - Editor, Newsletter on Carboniferous stratigraphy
- 1992 - 1995
- Career position - Science Coordinator, Australian Secretariat, International Ocean Drilling Program (ODP)
- 1996 - 2000
- Career position - Secretary, Subcommission on Carboniferous Stratigraphy, International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)
- 1998 - 2002
- Career position - Co-Leader, IGCP Project 411 (Geodynamics of Gondwanaland-derived terranes in East and South Asia), UNESCO and International Geological Correlation Programme
- 1999 - 2008
- Career position - Deputy Director, Asia Centre, University of New England
- 2001 - 2008
- Career position - Editor, UNEAC Asia papers
- 2002 - 2010
- Career position - Secretary/Treasurer, Malaysia & Singapore Society of Australia
- 2004
- Career event - Retired as Professor of Geology, University of New England
- 2005 -
- Career position - Adjunct Professor, University of New England
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Gorter, John, Nicoll, Robert S., Metcalfe, Ian, Willink, Robbert and Ferdinando, Darren, 'The Permian-Triassic boundary in Western Australia: evidence from the Bonaparte and northern Perth basins - exploration implications', APPEA journal, 49 (1) (2009), 311-36, https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ0820. Details
- Metcalfe, I., 'Gondwanaland dispersion, Asian accretion and evolution of Eastern Tethys', Australian journal of earth sciences, 43 (6) (1996), 605-23. Details
- Metcalfe, I., 'Tectonic framework and Phanerozoic evolution of Sundaland', Gondwana research, 19 (2011), 3-21. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 29 October 2026