Claire Nichols is an Associate Professor of the Geology of Planetary Processes in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, where she has been based for the past five years. Her research uses planetary magnetism as a powerful tool to understand planetary formation, interior evolution, and habitability, with a particular focus on Earth, the Moon, and small bodies in the solar system. Combining rock and palaeomagnetism with synchrotron and electron microscopy, field geology, and sample-return studies, she investigates topics ranging from early Earth’s magnetic field and atmospheric evolution to the origin, strength, and longevity of the lunar dynamo. A former Simons Foundation postdoctoral fellow in the Collaboration on the Origins of Life, she has extensive experience working across disciplinary boundaries, including as a member of an ISSI International Team. Alongside an active publication record in leading journals, Claire is a committed advocate for science communication, interdisciplinary collaboration, and equity, diversity, and inclusion, regularly giving invited talks internationally and holding leadership and advisory roles within Oxford and professional societies.
