Geology

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Museum Building
Trinity College Dublin
Dublin 2
Ireland

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earth@tcd.ie
Professor Patrick Wyse Jackson

Professor Patrick Wyse Jackson

Professor Emeritus, Geology

http://people.tcd.ie/wysjcknp

Biography

Patrick Wyse Jackson is a Professor in Geology and Curator of the Geological Museum. His is a Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. Between 2017 and 2022 he served as Head of the School of Natural Sciences, and is a former Head of the Discipline/Department of Geology. Director of Post-Graduate Teaching and Learning in the School of Natural Sciences, and College Tutor. His main research interests are on the taxonomy, functional morphology and biology of Palaeozoic bryozoans, particularly those from the Ordovician and Mississippian geological time periods. With a number of international colleagues, he is currently working on aspects of some fossil bryozoan faunas, and on the revision of the Order Fenestrata for the forthcoming edition of the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology to be published by the University of Kansas. Patrick holds several degrees from Trinity including a PhD and ScD. He has published over one hundred research papers and international conference abstracts on his research on bryozoans for which he was awarded his ScD in 2017. He has also published over 200 research papers, and books in other fields including the history and philosophy of geology, general palaeontology, and the use of building materials in Ireland. His research output has informed local and national government policy on landscape protection and on heritage issues. He was a co-PI on the innovative cross-disciplinary project 'Making Victorian Dublin' being carried out with colleagues in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture in Trinity. This project is focussed on the extractive industries and building trades, and craftsmen who worked on the Museum Building and elsewhere, in the middle decades of the 1800s. His current project STONEBUILT Ireland funded by the OPW and Geological Survey Ireland examines the use of dimension and decorative stone in Ireland through many building phases. His books include 'The Chronologers' Quest: episodes in the search for the age of the Earth' (Cambridge, 2006) and 'Introducing Palaeontology: a guide to ancient life' (Dunedin Academic Press, 2010; 2nd edition 2019). He has served the administration of several Irish and international organisations in various capacities, and has organised several conferences and two international symposia in Trinity. He is a past-President of the Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, the Irish Geological Association, and the International Bryozoology Association, and a past-Chairman of the Geological Curators'' Group. He edited the international journals 'The Geological Curator' for thirteen years and 'Earth Sciences History' - the journal of the History of Earth Sciences Society for three and is a current co-editor of the Irish Journal of Earth Sciences. He is a member of the International Commission for the History of Geological Sciences, a Voting Member of the International Union of Geological Sciences Heritage Stone Subcommission, and a past-Chair of the Royal Irish Academy Committee for the History of Irish Science.

Publications and Further Research Outputs

  • Coxon, P., Mitchell, F.J.G. and Wyse Jackson, P.N., Wicklow in the Grip of an Ice Age, 1, Dublin, Irish Quaternary Association, 2012, i - 48ppBook, 2012

Research Expertise

  • Title
    The black and white photographs of John Joly
    Summary
    John Joly (1857-1933), Professor of Geology and Mineralogy, TCD, was a skillful photographer who invented a method of colour photography. He left a large collection of b/w glass negatives and these will be scaanned and archivally stored.
    Funding Agency
    The Heritage Council
    Date From
    2006
    Date To
    2007
  • Title
    STONEBUILT Ireland 2
    Summary
    This project continues to build on the work of Stonebuilt Ireland 1 project (2019-20). It will further document quarries, stone types and buildings in Ireland, particularly those in public care, and will enhance the digital delivery of such information through the Geological Survey Ireland and through a dedicated interactive database. It will benefit local communities, conservationists, the extraction sector, and the reserach communities in the sciences and humanities.
    Funding Agency
    Geological Survey Ireland and Office of Public Works
    Date From
    1-Dec-2020
    Date To
    31-Nov-2022
  • Title
    Palaeozoic Bryozoans of Ireland, Britain and Europe
    Summary
    Funding Agency
    None
    Date From
    1988
    Date To
    ongoing
  • Title
    Making Victorian Dublin
    Summary
    Funding Agency
    Irish Research Council
    Date From
    December 2016
    Date To
    January 2019
  • Title
    STONEBUILT Ireland
    Summary
    Ireland contains a diverse range of rock types that are characterised as igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic origin, which have been utilised for building over the past 2,000 years and more. Until the mid-1900s local stone was generally used for vernacular, public and religious buildings, except where decorative stone had to be imported. Consequently, this has imparted a distinctive regional feel to villages, towns and cities. Dublin is characterised by use of Leinster Granite and imported Portland Stone, Galway through Mississippian limestones, while Cork and Kerry showcase structures built using local sandstone. By documenting sources of stone, and prominent examples of its use (in publicly accessible civic and religious buildings), STONEBUILT IRELAND aims to raise awareness of the regional characteristics of the built environment. The Department of Geology Trinity College Dublin, through collaboration with the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the Geological Survey Ireland (GSI) will provide a country-wide inventory of building stone analogous to those already available in Britain and Northern Ireland. In addition to promoting citizen science and awareness of local materials, the inventory will aid the public in complying with PART IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000, which requires owners to conserve protected structures. It will also assist local authorities in issuing Section 57 Declarations, which outline 'the type of works which it considers would or would not materially affect the character of the structure or any element of the structure'.
    Funding Agency
    Irish Research Council
    Date From
    March 2019
    Date To
    31 November 2020
  • Title
    STONEBUILT Ireland 3
    Summary
    Builds on phases 1 and 2
    Funding Agency
    Geological Survey Ireland and Office of Public Works
    Date From
    September 2024
    Date To
    August 2027
  • Title
    Revision of Bryozoa, Part G, Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology: Fenestrata
    Summary
    Funding Agency
    University of Kansas
    Date From
    2000
    Date To
    on going
  • Title
    GEOSCHOL - Geology for schools in Ireland
    Summary
    This project will provide outreach materials to schools to promote an awareness of Ireland's geological heritage.
    Funding Agency
    Government of Ireland (€120,000)
    Date From
    October 2007
    Date To
    September 2009

Recognition

  • International Commission on the History of Geology (INHIGEO) date
  • Palaeontological Association 2025
  • Palaeontographical Society, UK date
  • History of Geology Group, Geological Society of London 2010
  • Geological Curators' Group 2025
  • Dublin Naturalists' Field Club date
  • Irish Geological Association date
  • Paleontological Society 2025
  • Society for the History of Natural History 2010
  • International Bryozoology Association date
  • History of Earth Sciences Society date
  • Reviewer: Austrian Science Council (external grant assessor); Journal of Palaeontology, Palaeontology, Special Papers in Palaeontology, Lethaia, Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, Journal of Earth Sciences, OU Geological Journal, Paleobiology, Acta Paleontological Polonica, Memoirs of the Australasian Paleontological Association, Geological Society of America Special Publications, Geological Society of London Special Publications, Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie, Swiss Journal of Palaeontology, Geobiology, Paleoworld, Journal of Palaeontology and others 1995-date
  • External Ph.D. reviewer: University of Birmingham
  • Irish Geological Association Secretary 1989-1990; Vice President 1994; President 1995-1996 1989-1996
  • International Bryozoology Association Council Member 1992-2025; Conference volume facilitator 2001-2025; President-Elect 2010-2013; President 2013-2016; International Conference host 2001 and 2022 1992-2025
  • Society for the History of Natural History Representative for Ireland 2004-2010
  • External Ph.D. reviewer: Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh
  • Voting Member on the Subcommission on Heritage Stones (International Union of Geological Sciences) 2022-present
  • Irish Stone Forum (founder) 2020
  • Advisor on Irish dimension stone for inclusion in European database, European Committee for Standardization, Brussels 2019
  • Editor 'The Geological Curator', Geological Curators' Group 1993-2006
  • Earth Sciences History, Editor 2005-2007; Associate Editor 2008-date 2005-date
  • Palaeontographical Society, UK: Vice-President 2018-2020
  • National Committee for the History of Science in Ireland, Royal Irish Academy Member 1996-2012; Chair 2005-2009 1996-2012
  • Dublin Naturalists' Field Club Hon. Secretary 1988-1991; Vice President 1994-1995; President 1992-1993; Committee member/Director 1988-1995, 2005-2006 1988-2006
  • Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, Royal Irish Academy, Editor 2017-date
  • National Committee for Geodesy and Geophysics, Royal Irish Academy, Member 2003-2004
  • Geological Curators' Group, Chairman 2002-2004
  • Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, Royal Irish Academy, Editorial Board 2011-date
  • History of Geology Group, Geological Society of London, Committee member 2005-2008
  • National Committee for Geology, Royal Irish Academy Member 1996-1999; 2003-2004 1996-1999; 2003-2004
  • History of the Earth Sciences Society (U.S.A.) Councilor-at-large 2001-2003
  • Journal of Paleontology, USA, Associate Editor 2016-2020
  • Advisor on historical stone use: Office of Public Works; Geological Survey Ireland; Dublin City Council, Trinity Estates and Facilities; Dublin Civic Trust; Irish Georgian Society; Kerry County Council; Kerry Museum; several conservation architectural practices. 1993 to date
  • External Ph.D. reviewer: University of Reading