Professor Jane Plant is one of the world's leading geochemists, and is chief scientist of the British Geological Survey (BGS) from 2000 to 2005, as well as Professor of Geochemistry at Imperial College, London.

She graduated with a Class I Honours degree in geology at Liverpool University in 1967, gaining her PhD in geochemistry at Leicester University ten years later. Jane has worked at the British Geological Survey for her whole professional career, taking a leading role from the start in developing Britain's national geochemical database, with its direct applications in mineral exploration - and most significantly (and at first unexpectedly) in the new field of environmental health: during the 1970s it was Jane Plant's team which identified links between deficiency diseases in livestock and the geochemistry of the land on which they lived.

Alongside her permanent BGS position, Jane has held other senior posts, including: Chief Scientist, Head of Geoscience Resources and Facilities Directorate 2000-02; Professor of Geochemistry, Imperial College, London; and Vice President, Middleton Exploration during a sabbatical year in 1988-89.

Click here for her full curriculum vitae