Lecturer receives award acknowledging outstanding contribution to volcanology

Dr Paul Cole has been researching and teaching about volcanoes all over the world for almost four decades
Dr Paul Cole, Associate Professor of Volcanology and a lecturer on the University of Plymouth’s Earth Sciences programmes, who has won the 2026 VMSG Award from the Geological Society of London

Lecturer receives award acknowledging outstanding contribution to volcanology

Dr Paul Cole has been researching and teaching about volcanoes all over the world for almost four decades
A University of Plymouth academic has been presented with a prestigious award from the Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group (VMSG) of the Geological Society of London.
Dr Paul Cole, Associate Professor of Volcanology and a lecturer on the University’s Earth Sciences programmes, has been presented with the 2026 VMSG award for his ongoing work to advance global understanding of volcanic and magmatic processes.
His award was presented at the VMSG annual meeting in Southampton, where Dr Cole delivered a keynote address about his research to hundreds of scientists, students and professionals working in the field.

This was totally unexpected and, looking at the people to have received this award previously, more than a little humbling. But it does feel like a real honour to get it, and to have been nominated by peers and colleagues who I have worked with for several decades is incredibly special.

Paul ColeDr Paul Cole
Associate Professor of Volcanology

Dr Cole has been working in Plymouth since 2013, and his research is predominantly focused on active volcanoes in various locations across the Caribbean and Europe.
He began working on Soufrière Hills volcano in Montserrat just after it started erupting in 1995, and it continued to do so until 2010 by which time 19 people had been killed and 6,000 had been forced to leave the island.
Towards the end of that time, Dr Cole became Director of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory, spending three years carrying out vital monitoring of volcanic activity and informing the island’s authorities and citizens about the threats it might pose.
He also worked on the La Soufrière volcano in St Vincent and the Grenadines, which erupted in 2020 and 2021 leading to large-scale evacuations, and on volcanoes in Italy, including on Campi Flegrei, a volcano close to a highly populated area near Naples.
In addition to his research, Dr Cole is passionate about sharing his expertise with others.
He has been involved in several outreach programmes in volcano-threatened communities and helped to create an educational game – Volcano Top Trumps – to increase awareness of the world’s volcanoes.
He also runs field trips for students – including those on the BSc (Hons) Geology, MGeol, BSc Physical Geography and Geology, and BSc (Hons) Environmental Geosciences courses – to renowned volcanic regions including Pompeii.
Students also get to work on samples from Montserrat and other volcano sites during practical sessions as part of their studies, and develop skills including working with seismic data, remote sensing, GIS, radiocarbon dating, and sedimentology.

As geologists, we typically work with rocks that are millions of years old and our job is to work out their story. But they are not simply frozen in time, and one of the reasons there is huge interest in volcanology is that these landscapes are incredibly dynamic. The skills we use are wide-ranging and draw from different areas of science, but they can be essential in helping inform decisions that can genuinely be matters of life and death.

Dr Paul Cole
The University of Plymouth team working on the project (from left) Dr Paul Cole, Symeon Makris and Dr Irene Manzella
Volcano Top Trumps
Dr Paul Cole with a colleague on the observation deck at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory during a period of high volcanic activity in October 2009
Dr Paul Cole, Associate Professor of Volcanology and a lecturer on the University of Plymouth’s Earth Sciences programmes, is presented with the 2026 VMSG award for his ongoing work to advance global understanding of volcanic and magmatic processes
 

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Dr Paul Cole, Associate Professor of Volcanology and a lecturer on the University of Plymouth’s Earth Sciences programmes, who has won the 2026 VMSG Award from the Geological Society of London

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