Professor Jon Copley

Jon has taught marine ecology and oceanography for more than 25 years. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and has received Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Teaching and for Postgraduate Supervision & Training.

Jon leads a module in Deep-Sea Ecology for final-year undergraduates and postgraduate Masters students. He also teaches a marine biology field course using the University's coastal research vessel, and lectures on first-year undergraduate modules including Marine Invertebrates and Introduction to Marine Ecology & Evolution.

In online education, Jon was Lead Educator of the University's Exploring Our Ocean Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), which was taken up by more than 60 000 people from 180+ countries and Highly Commended in The Ocean Awards.

Jon is currently Director of Programmes for the School of Ocean & Earth Science, helping to ensure our degrees evolve to meet the needs of a changing world. He is also a mentor and assessor for AdvanceHE fellowship qualifications, supporting colleagues across the University to develop their educational practice.

Jon has been involved in exploring the deep ocean over the past three decades, including using Human-Occupied Vehicles (HOVs) and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs).

Jon took part in the first Human-Occupied Vehicle dive to the world's deepest known hydrothermal vents, becoming the first British person to dive more than 5000 metres deep in the ocean, and the first Human-Occupied Vehicle dives to reach 1000 metres deep in the Antarctic.

He has led expeditions aboard research ships, and co-authored the scientific descriptions of new species including a snail with metal scales that is teaching us a better way to make solar panels, a shrimp whose tiny hairs have inspired a new material for sound and heat insulation, and worms that secrete acid to digest the skeletons of dead animals on the seafloor.

Jon is an Advisory Board member for the global Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI), and was previously Co-Chair of the InterRidge initiative for international cooperation in research at mid-ocean ridges. He is also a former Scientific Associate of the Natural History Museum in London, and a National Geographic Explorer.

In science communication, Jon works with broadcasters to share the exploration of the deep ocean with people worldwide, for example advising and appearing in documentaries such as BBC Blue Planet II, and contributing to programmes for Radio 4 and the World Service. He routinely interacts with news media to raise awareness of deep-sea issues and discoveries, and he has also advised oceanic eco-thrillers and sci-fi series.

Jon often discusses why and how we explore deep-sea life at science festivals, and he has worked with museums, artists, and musicians on exhibitions and events highlighting connections between the deep ocean and our everyday lives. He is a recipient of the Royal Society of Biology Science Communication Award for Established Researchers and the British Science Association Award Lecture for Environmental Sciences.

As a popular-science writer, Jon is the author of the books Deep Sea: 10 Things You Should Know (2023) and Ask An Ocean Explorer (2019). He has published more than a hundred bylined popular-science articles in magazines and newspapers including The Guardian, Nature, BBC Science Focus and New Scientist, where he was previously a Reporter and Assistant News Editor.

Beyond his University role, in 2006 Jon co-founded SciConnect Ltd with colleagues in science journalism, creating a capacity-building company that has trained more than 15 000 scientists in communication skills to share their work more widely. He has worked as a Director of the company to develop and deliver training programmes for clients including research institutions, funding bodies, government agencies, NGOs and companies across the UK and in Europe.