Tarje Nissen-Meyer
is a scientist with 20 years’ experience of research across many disciplines such as numerical methods for wave propagation, supercomputing, Earth's interior, geohazards, machine learning and artificial intelligence, wildlife monitoring in Africa, ice monitoring, and solar system science. A Professor of Geophysics at Oxford University until 2023, he is now at Exeter University's Department of Mathematics as Professor in Environmental Intelligence. He has been a Turing Fellow, a member on NASA’s InSight Mars mission, published > 60 scientific papers, and has been featured in BBC’s Secrets of the Jurassic, Science Friday, Washington Post, a TED talk. As a global geophysicist, he's naturally passionate about understanding and preserving our beautiful planet and biodiversity, while enjoying quality time with his children, in forests, mountains, the sea, at gigs, and amongst diverse cultures.
Simon Jeffery
is a scientist based at Harper Adams University. He has more than 15 years’ experience in soil ecological research. He has published >30 papers and numerous scientific and policy reports. His research focuses on ecosystem function and in particular how soil organisms drive processes and functions across a range of scales, from local to global, with the aim of increasing the sustainability of our use of soils. Simon is supporting the soil science elements of the Earth Rover Program.
Katie Bradford
is an operations specialist, working with mission-driven organizations on a consultancy or project basis. In her consultancy roles, Katie has worked with some world-changing campaigners, putting in place the operational structures to support their global campaigning work. From the UN Global Goals campaign and Jamie’s Food Revolution in 2015 to Outrage + Optimism, Travalyst and Make My Money Matter in the past year. Katie is supporting the operational setup phase of the Earth Rover Program.
George Monbiot
is a writer and journalist, working mostly on environmental issues. He has a long-standing interest in the soil, explored in particular in his book Regenesis: feeding the world without devouring the planet. He is a columnist for the Guardian newspaper and the author of a number of books. Among his awards are the 2022 Orwell Prize for Journalism and the UN Global 500 Award, presented to him by Nelson Mandela. He is an honorary fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford.
Hugo Bloem
joined the Earth Rover Program in January 2024, after completing his PhD in geology-informed Bayesian tomographic imaging using geochemical and seismic data at the University of Edinburgh. His PhD research involved inverting geochemical and seismic data to image the subsurface structure and composition, using advanced Bayesian inversion and machine learning techniques. He is currently working on developing and implementing efficient and robust methods for quantifying uncertainty in soil imaging. Hugo is passionate about using his skills and expertise to contribute to the Earth Rover Program’s vision of creating a sustainable future for the planet and increasing the state of knowledge for farmers.
Jo Haward
With a career working across many different sectors including think tanks, in health and outdoor arts administration, Jo liaises directly with Tarje and Simon as their Executive Assistant and provides support throughout the organisation. Her background includes time spent working as crew on various Greenpeace International ships, successfully home-educating her two children and reference checking for George Monbiot on The Invisible Doctrine and Regenesis.
Maria Tsekhmistrenko
Maria was recently a Research Fellow in Computational Marine Seismology at UCL, UK. She earned her PhD in Computational Geophysics at the University of Oxford, UK, specializing in seismic tomography and inverse problems. Maria's research on imaging a "tree" of Indo-African mantle plumes was published in Nature Geoscience and covered by NBC News, EOS, and Quanta Magazine. She has expertise in various statistical, data science, and machine learning techniques, signal processing, inverse theory, and (3D) visualization, as well as working with large (and noisy) datasets. She is passionate about interdisciplinary collaborations and constantly working towards fixing and improving "things" (from software codes to seismological instruments in the deep sea or on land). Learning about ERP's project and trying to address one of the most significant and challenging situations in human society at this moment has heightened her desire to join the team and tackle this life-changing problem.
Deborah Harris
Operations Director
Deborah joined the ERP in February 2024 as Operations Director, having spent over 15 years in a range of senior operational leadership roles in the non-profit sector. She is an experienced COO and Company Secretary and has worked in both UK-based and international organisations including most recently the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment and prior to that, the International Institute for Environment and Development.
Joe Collins
Joe joined ERP in March 2024, whilst completing his PhD in agricultural science. He holds an MSc in Sustainable Crop Production from the University of Warwick and a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture with Crop Management from Harper Adams University. His PhD research is titled “A systems-level evaluation of Conservation Agriculture in the UK” which involves multi-disciplinary research on agronomy, soil science, economics, and greenhouse gas emissions from soils. Joe has over 10 years of experience working in the agricultural industry in the UK and abroad. Coming from a farming background, Joe is passionate about using his skills to contribute to Earth Rover Program’s vision of empowering farmers with access to technology which helps them improve their understanding of the soils they are farming.
Alice Marks
Research assistant, seismology
Alice recently graduated with a Masters in Earth Sciences from Oxford University. Her Master's thesis (supervised by Tarje and Simon) was looking to understand if it is possible to seismically record signals that would allow us to resolve soil properties, which was a key proof of concept during project development for the Earth Rover Program. Alice is very passionate about the potential of this project and the impact it could have on one of the most pressing issues the world faces. She continues to support to project, particularly by assisting with the UK deployments.
Mark Healey
With over three decades of design experience, Mark specialises in elevating company brands, fostering visual consistency, and generating new business opportunities. His expertise extends to collaborating with startups within the social enterprise sector, where he applies design thinking to craft compelling narratives that resonate with audiences.