Dr Gill JollyVolcanologist

Gill is a volcanologist from the UK and after researching magma physics for her PhD, she started work at the British Geological Survey. After a few years exploring for gold and base metals in the UK, she was involved in the eruption of Soufriere Hills volcano, Montserrat from 1995 to 2005. She became the Director of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory for two 12-month periods, leading the monitoring programme, working closely with government and communicating to the public. 

 In 2006 she moved to NZ where she led the Volcanology team at GNS Science through New Zealand and SW Pacific eruptions, including Ruapehu (2007), Tongariro (2012), Whakaari (2012-3) and Gaua (2010). Between 2014 and 2018, she was the Director of the Natural Hazards Division and led the division through the response to the 2016 M7.8 Kaikōura Earthquake. After short periods in other senior leadership roles in GNS, she then became the Leader of the Natural Hazards and Risks Science Theme, and as such was responsible for developing GNS’ strategic direction for research on volcanoes, tsunami, landslides and earthquakes.

 From July 2023, she has been seconded to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), for four days a week, as their Chief Science Advisor. At MBIE, she leads a small team whose role it is to connect the science sector to science policy makers, advise wider MBIE on scientific issues and connect with other parts of government through the Chief Science Advisor’s Forum, which she has recently been invited to co-chair.