Saints Spotlight: Professor Andrea Burke
How did your St Andrews story start?
My first visit to St Andrews was for a fish and chip dinner at Tailend with my future sister-in-law who was an undergraduate here at the time. It was winter and as we drove into the town I was charmed with its history and aesthetic. I remember wondering out loud ‘maybe I should try to get a job here’. We parked, and as I opened the door and felt the cold wind coming off the North Sea. I said, ‘never mind – too cold’.
Three years later I was offered a job as a lecturer in the newly formed Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and so I moved here from my postdoctoral fellowship at Caltech (Pasadena, California). While that might seem like a big change in scene, I was assured by a local resident in my first week that St Andrews is ‘the sunniest place in the whole of Scotland’.
What are your current priorities in your role at the University?
When I first started my job here 11 years ago, we were a small department. Since then, we have grown into our own School and now have one of the best Earth Science research and teaching programmes in the UK.
My aim is to make us one of the best in the world by continuing to build upon our research excellence through major research programmes and innovative and experiential teaching within our Environmental Earth Science and Geology degrees. This goal is not without its challenges, though. At present we don’t have a home on campus, with most of our laboratories a 25-minute walk from our School’s offices, which has negative consequences for research productivity and environment. So, a major priority of mine is to work with the University to find a home for our School that allows us to capitalise on our collective ambition and talent.
What is the focus of your research at St Andrews?
My research uses insights from Earth’s past climate history to inform understanding of key processes and feedbacks in the climate system. I integrate geochemical measurements on corals, rivers and ice cores with numerical modelling, investigating phenomena ranging from abrupt atmospheric CO2 change during the last ice age to the impact of weathering on the future drawdown of atmospheric CO2.
I’ve recently been awarded ERC and UKRI funding to reconstruct the past history of volcanic eruptions and climate response using high resolution sulphur isotope records in ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica. This will allow us to narrow down uncertainties in climate sensitivity to changes in the planet’s radiative balance, which will help us improve projections of future climate change.
I have also recently begun projects in applied climate solutions in partnership with onshore aquaculture industry to harness geochemical techniques for the development of sustainable solutions for circular, low-carbon economies.
Tell us about your proudest achievement.
Last year I was inducted as the first female professor in the 121-year history of Geology/Earth Science at St Andrews (the first of many, I am sure!). While I’m extremely proud of that achievement, I think I am most proud of how far our School has come in the past 11 years and the collaborative role I have played in that journey. It is such a joy to be working together on our shared purpose and ambitions with colleagues who I deeply respect.
Where is your favourite spot in St Andrews?
The beaches. Lade Braes walk covered in spring blooms. The hill on the south side of town, looking north over St Andrews and beyond to Tentsmuir and the Firth of Tay (especially in winter when you can see the snow on the foothills of the Highlands). We are spoilt for choice!