Expert Guides

Our tour guides are experts drawn from the fields of geology, science communication and history. Many are practising geologists and academics with extensive experience of research and education.

Rob Butler

Profile

Rob Butler is Professor of Tectonics at Aberdeen University; he is active in the Geological Society of London and is on the Board of the Scottish Geology Trust.

Rob is an enthusiastic and captivating spokesman for the earth’s geology. He delivers frequent talks on the landscapes and history of the Scottish Highlands (and other topics). Some of these may be viewed on his educational YouTube page, The Shear Zone. He has also appeared in the BBC’s Men of Rocks series.

As an expert tectonic geologist, Rob’s best-known research is on the structural geology of mountain belts (Scotland, the Alps, the Himalayas, the Apennines and Arabia), and he has worked extensively on the "Salinity Crisis" in the central Mediterranean.

Rob has won a number of awards from the Geological Society of London, most recently the first Dewey Medal (2018), awarded for significant contributions to geology through field work, leadership and promoting geoconservation.

Tours from Rob Butler:
The NW Highlands of Scotland