Saints Spotlight: Dr Claire Cousins
Dr Claire Cousins is a Reader in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. In this month’s Saints Spotlight, she discusses her research into how planets and moons beyond Earth could feasibly support microbial life, the GeoBus outreach project with schools and local authorities, and an exciting collaborative project between art and science, which will be on display in public galleries over the coming year.
How did your St Andrews story start?
I came to St Andrews as a Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) Research Fellow in 2015, so I’m currently enjoying my 10-year St Andrews anniversary! My decision to move my RSE fellowship here was hugely influenced by the reputation of the School I still reside in (Earth and Environmental Sciences) and it’s been wonderful to grow planetary science and astrobiology research here with my colleagues. Plus, North East Fife is an easy place to see yourself living in. After my fellowship finished my position became permanent and it’s great to have become part of the wider academic fabric of the University, particularly collaborating across faculty.
What are your current priorities at the University?
The wider scientific field I work in – Earth Sciences – is often misunderstood as a subject. This is reflected in its absence as a specific subject throughout primary and secondary education, and its outdated image as a field focused only on resources extraction. So, one of my priorities currently is to show that Earth Sciences is extremely relevant to many challenges and questions facing us today, whether it’s understanding the impacts of past, current and future climate change, enabling the energy transition, through to addressing fundamental questions about Earth’s formation and the habitability of other rocky worlds. For this I work with our excellent GeoBus project, which works directly with schools and local authorities, and proactively engages with different media outlets to reach broader audiences.
What is the focus of your research at St Andrews?
My research here addresses how planets and moons beyond Earth, such as Mars or the icy moons in the outer solar system, could feasibly support microbial life (either past or present!), and how we can explore these worlds using robotic spacecraft and instrumentation. To do this I use analogue environments and geological localities on Earth – places that share similar environmental conditions or geology to these alien worlds. Our research in Iceland has identified how underlying volcanic processes can exert a direct influence on the biochemistry of the life inhabiting the associated geothermal hot springs, and most recently we have been using billion-year-old sedimentary rocks in Scotland to understand how scant remnants of ancient microbial life can be detected using instruments sent to the Martian surface on board robotic rovers.
Tell us about your proudest achievement.
Growing up I loved both art and science, but it often felt like an either/or choice – I remember having to drop out of my art A-level because it was timetabled to clash with the sciences on the assumption people wouldn’t choose both. However, both are inherently very creative processes and can do much to serve each other. So I have been extremely proud to have developed a collaboration with the contemporary artist Ilana Halperin following a chance encounter during her residency here at St Andrews in 2019. Over the past year she has been creating new artworks for a collaborative project called ‘An Art History of Mars’, along with the art historian Dr Catriona McAra.
These artworks will be publicly exhibited in various galleries over the coming year, including the nearby Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh in 2026. Seeing the geological and research concepts, and analogue field sites, that I have worked on for years being used in a wholly new and very emotive and meaningful way has been completely inspiring.
Where is your favourite spot in St Andrews?
There are so many! I love the East Sands – it’s such a pretty beach and I often take my daughter rock-pooling there. I also regularly enjoy the St Andrews Botanic Garden – seeing how this space is transforming to somewhere research-focused has been wonderful, and the kids enjoy exploring all it’s different nooks and crannies, so it’s a family favourite.