Professor Cathy Hollis Chair of Carbonate Geoscience
Cathy is Professor of Carbonate Geoscience. She was awarded a BSc from University of Birmingham (1990) and a PhD from the University of Aberdeen (1995). Having worked as a consultant carbonate sedimentologist for Badley Ashton and Associates Ltd and as a production geologist and Carbonate Research Team Leader for Shell International Exploration and Production, Cathy joined The University of Manchester in 2007. She is currently Discipline Head of Research in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science, and she co-ordinates carbonate research within the Sedimentary Basins Group.
Cathy's research focuses on fluid-rock reaction in carbonate platforms. Her research focuses on dolomitization of sedimentary strata, fluid-rock reaction in the deep subsurface, carbonate pore system evolution and subsurface energy systems, particularly low enthalpy geothermal energy. She has led industrial consortiums and UKRI-funded projects that determine processes governing fluid-rock reaction in carbonate strata. Her research interests also include the sedimentology of Mississippian and Jurassic-Cretaceous carbonate platforms of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
Cathy is an experienced teacher of undergraduate and postgraduate students in carbonate diagenesis and petrophysics and has graduated over 20 PhD students. She is former President of the International Association of Sedimentologists (2022-2024), and was a REF2021 sub-panel member.
Dr. Stefan Schröeder Senior Lecturer in Carbonate Geology
Stefan earned a PhD in geology from the University of Bern (Switzerland), working on characterization of dolomite reservoirs in Oman. This was followed by postdoctoral research projects on Precambrian carbonates at MIT (USA) and the University of Johannesburg (South Africa). Most recently, I worked as a carbonate and subsurface geologist for Total SA in France. In this role, I was involved in reservoir studies, regional exploration studies and research applied to reservoir characterization. I worked on depositional systems from southern Africa to Mauritania, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and eastern Asia.