David S. G. Thomas is a British scientist and geographer. He was born at his parents' home in River, near Dover,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, UK, in October 1958. He is Professor of

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, the fifth person to hold the Statuary Chair, and a Professorial Fellow of

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The col ...

Career and research

His research deals with desertification,

dryland Drylands are defined by a scarcity of water. Drylands are zones where precipitation is balanced by evaporation from surfaces and by transpiration by plants (evapotranspiration). The United Nations Environment Program defines drylands as tropical ...

environments,

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

and other environmental phenomena. Recent research has focussed on desert geoarchaeology, dryland bioenergy and long-term environmental change in deserts. He received his D.Phil. from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Between 1984 and 2004 he taught and researched at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

, where he rose from lecturer to senior lecturer then full professor by 1994, and was head of department. he has authored many scientific papers (over 200 by 2022) and 11 books including second and third editions. He has been vice-president of the Royal Geographical Society (twice) and president of the

British Geomorphological Research Group The ''British Society for Geomorphology'' (BSG), incorporating the British Geomorphological Research Group (BGRG), is the professional organisation for British geomorphologists and provides a community and services for those involved in teachi ...

(now British Society for Geomorphology. His research interests have seen significant activity in Africa, especially in the Kalahari and Namib Deserts and surrounding areas, and in Arabia and India.

Awards

In 2011 he received the Farouk El-Baz Award from the Geological Society of America for his contributions to desert science. He received the Royal Geographical Society's Victoria Medal in 2018 for his world leading research in desert environments and desert societies.

Books

*Thomas, David S. G. ''Desertification: exploding the myth'' / David S. G. Thomas and Nicholas J. Middleton. Chichester; New York:

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations * Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People * Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer * Wiley Mil ...

, c1994. xii, 194 p.: ill., maps; 24 cm. *''Sustainable livelihoods in Kalahari environments: a contribution to global debates'' / edited by Deborah Sporton and David S.G. Thomas. Oxford; New York:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2002. xix, 231 p.: ill., maps; 24 cm. (alk. paper) *''Arid zone geomorphology'' / edited by David S.G. Thomas. London: Belhaven Press; New York: Halsted Press, 1989. vi, 372 p.: ill.; 26 cm. (Halsted Press. 2nd edition (published by John wiley and Sons 1998. 3rd edition as 'Arid Zone Geomorphology: process, Form and Change in Drylands 2011. *United Nations Environment Programme. ''World atlas of desertification'' / UNEP; co-ordinating editors, Nick Middleton and David Thomas. 2nd ed. London; New York: Arnold; New York: Copublished in the US, Central and South America by John Wiley, c1997. 1 atlas (x, 182 p.): ill. (some col.), maps (some col.); 37 cm. (UNEP), (Wiley) *''The Kalahari Environment'' David S.G. Thomas and Paul A. Shaw

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

, 1991. xiii, 275 p.: ill., maps.

Other roles

Amongst his many professional roles, he chaired the Geography and Environmental Studies for the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 from 2017 to 2022.

External links

University of Oxford: Professor David S.G. Thomas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, David Living people 1958 births British geographers Fellows of Hertford College, Oxford Academics of the University of Sheffield People educated at Dover Grammar School for Boys People from Dover, Kent