Professor Ian Wright
Principal Researcher, University of Canterbury
Professor Ian Wright is a marine geoscientist and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) at University of Canterbury (UC). Ian has extensive governance and leadership experience in large complex national and international research programmes particularly in the fields of CO2 geosequestration, offshore infrastructure gas detection and monitoring, and real-world CO2 gas-release experiments. He has international energy experience including industry consultancy projects and has a track-record of research translation and partnering with industry. His previous relevant leadership roles include Advisory Board member of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Chair of National Energy Research Institute, Member of NERC Science and Innovation Board (UK), and member of UK Research Council Energy Programme Scientific Advisory Committee. Ian is a current board member of the Australian FrontierSI geospatial company and its AI-enabled spin-out company MapAI.
Ian is currently contributing to an existing UC-led programme on “Hydrogen Geostorage”, and is currently initiating a new research consortium, with both New Zealand and international partners (and industry), to assess the resource potential of “natural hydrogen” in Aotearoa New Zealand.