µÛÍõ»áËù

Education

Ph.D., 1978, University of Cambridge, England

B.Sc. (Honors), 1972, University of Leicester, England

Curriculum Vitae

2018-present, Distinguished Professor Emeritus

2008-2018, Distinguished Professor

1991-2008, Professor

1982-1991, Associate Professor

1980-1982, Assistant Professor

Research Interests

Structural Geology and Tectonics

• The supercontinent cycle and Earth's long-term tectonic, geochemical, climatic and biological history.
• Neoproterozoic-early Paleozoic (Cadomian) history of the Bohemian Massif, Czech Republic.
• Neoproterozoic subduction-related active rifting in the Tarim and South China cratons.
• Late Precambrian continental reconstructions and the tectonic evolution of the Avalonian-Cadomian belt in the northern Appalachians and southern Europe.
• Origin and evolution of the Rheic Ocean and its role in the assembly of Pangea.
• Late Precambrian-Paleozoic structural, kinematic and tectonothermal evolution of the Acatlàn and Granjeno complexes, Mexico.
  Tectonic history of  the Avalon terrane in Maritime Canada. 
  Pleistocene glacial and neotectonic history of Mt. Olympus, Greece.
• Late Precambrian continental reconstructions and the tectonic evolution of the Avalonian-Cadomian belt in the northern Appalachians and western Europe.
• The supercontinent cycle and Earth's long-term tectonic, geochemical, climatic and biological history.
• Pleistocene glacial and neotectonic history of Mt. Olympus, Greece.
• Dextral transpression and Late Carboniferous sedimentation in Maritime Canada.

Biographical Sketch

Damian Nance is Distinguished Professor Emeritus and past Chair of Geological Sciences (now Earth & Environmental Geosciences) at µÛÍõ»áËù. He joined the department in 1980, following four years on the faculty of St. Francis Xavier University in Canada. He has held visiting research positions at Charles University (Prague), Louisiana State University, Oxford Brookes University, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and St. Francis Xavier University as the W.F. James Professor of Pure and Applied Science. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at Yale University.

Nance is a native of Cornwall, U.K. and received his B.Sc. (Hons) in geology at the University of Leicester, U.K. in 1972. He moved to Canada in 1976 after completing his Ph.D. in geology at the University of Cambridge, where he studied the application of plate tectonic theory to the development of ancient mountain belts and developed his research interest in tectonic activity and large-scale geodynamic processes. In 1982, Nance and fellow department member Tom Worsley proposed the supercontinent cycle, the now-substantiated theory that the Earth's geologic, climatic and biological evolution has been dominated by the episodic assembly and breakup of supercontinents. Using the peri-Gondwanan terranes of the northern Appalachians and southern Europe, the Acatlán Complex of southern Mexico, the Bohemian Massif of the Czech Republic, and the Tarim and South China cratons, Nance has studied the causes and effects of the Earth’s moving continents and has attempted to reconstruct their past geographies, particularly with respect to the putative supercontinent Pannotia and the Paleozoic Rheic Ocean. He has also examined the on-going uplift of Mt. Olympus, Greece, and its influence on the mountain’s Pleistocene glacial record and is an authority on 19th century Cornish mining history and its steam technology.

Nance has twice received the College of Arts & Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award; he has been twice nominated for the University's Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award, and he has toured as a distinguished lecturer for the Atlantic Provinces Intercollegiate Council for the Sciences. He is past editor of Lithosphere and GSA Today, he serves on the editorial boards of Gondwana Research and Geoscience Frontiers, and he has served as guest editor for several international journals. He has also served as a peer review panelist for the Department of Energy and a research adviser for Argonne National Laboratories. Nance has published over 280 papers, authored and edited 21 books and maps, and given over 250 presentations at national and international meetings.

Courses Taught

• GEOL 1200: The Mobile Earth

Past Courses Taught

• GEOL 4/5020: International Field School
• GEOL 3/5600: Structural Geology
• GEOL 4/5610: Advanced Structural Geology
• GEOL 4/5640: Regional Tectonics
• GEOL 4/5660: Geodynamics
• GEOL 4/5480: Basin Tectonics & Hydrocarbon Exploration
• GEOL 4/5910: Field Geology

Selected Publications

• Murphy, J.B., Nance, R.D., Schulmann, K., Kuiper, Y.D. and Martínez Catalán, J.R. 2025. Assembling Pangaea – The complex morphology of the Laurussia-Gondwana collision. Elements, in press.
• Nance, R.D. 2025. American-built beam engines in America. Journal of the Trevithick Society, v. 52, in press.
• Nance, R.D. 2025. The Cornish engine in America. Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology, v. 46, no. 1, in press.
• Žák, J., Svojtka, M., Nance, R.D. and Murphy, J.M. 2025. Detrital zircon record of shutdown and migration of Cadomian volcanic arcs in the Bohemian Massif, with implications for Ediacaran to early Cambrian plate kinematics. Precambrian Research, v. 422, 107786,
• Nance, R.D. 2024. Stationary steam engines in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Histories, v. 4, p. 256-292,
• Murphy, J.B., Nance, R.D. and Mitchell, R.N. 2024. The assembly of Pangea: Geodynamic conundrums revisited. Journal of the Geological Society of London, v. 181, jgs2024-006, p. 1-12,
• Tang, J., Wang, J., Wu, G., Wen, Y., Nance, R.D., He, B., Li, C. and Zou, Y. 2024. Retreating subduction-related intracratonic rifting in the Ediacaran Sichuan Basin (SW China). Precambrian Research, v. 413, 107569,
• Murphy, J.B., Nance, R.D., Johnston, S.T., Casas, J.M., Cawood, P.A., Matheson, E., Pufahl, P., Dan, W., Alvaro, J. and Heron, P.J. 2024. Speculations on the Palaeozoic legacy of Gondwana amalgamation. Gondwana Research, v. 129, p. 107-131,
• Nance, R.D., Strachan, R.A., Quesada, C. and Lin, S. (eds.), 2024. Supercontinents, Orogenesis and Magnetism, Geological Society of London Special Publication 542, 816 p.
• Martin, E., Cawood, P.A., Murphy, J.B., Nance, R.D. and Heron, P. 2024. The tectonics of introversion and            extroversion: redefining interior and exterior oceans in the supercontinent cycle, in Supercontinents, Orogenesis and Magnetism, edited by R.D. Nance, R.A. Strachan, C. Quesada and S. Lin. Geological Society of London, Special Publication 542, p. 15-26,
• Heron,P.J., Gün, E., Shephard, G.E., Dannberg, J., Gassmöller, R., Martin, E., Sharif, A., Pysklywec, R.N., Nance, R.D. and Murphy, J.B. 2024. The role of subduction in the formation of Pangean oceanic large igneous provinces, in Supercontinents, Orogenesis and Magnetism, edited by R.D. Nance, R.A. Strachan, C. Quesada and S. Lin. Geological Society of London, Special Publication 542, p. 105-123,
• Nance, R.D., Brown, K. and Clarke, T., 2023. Complete Guide to the Engine Houses of East Cornwall and Devon, Lydney, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Lightmoor Press, 152 p. ISBN: 9781915069269.
• Nance, R.D. 2023. A short history of the beam engine in America. The International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology, v. 93(2), p. 149-199,
• Žák, J., Sláma, J., Syahputra1, R. and Nance, R.D. 2023. Dynamics of Cambro–Ordovician rifting of the northern margin of Gondwana as revealed by the timing of subsidence and magmatism in rift-related basins. International Geology Review, v. 65, p. 2820–2835,
• Tian, W., Wu, G., Wang. Y., Shuai, Y., Nance, R.D., Xiaojun, Z., Suhail, H.A., Liang, H. and Zheng, B. 2023. Neoproterozoic subduction-related active rifting in the South China craton: insights from geochemical and zircon Hf isotopic data. International Geology Review, v. 65, p. 2820–2835,
• Murphy, J.B., R. Nance, R.D. and Wu, L. 2023. The provenance of Avalonia and its tectonic implications: a critical reappraisal, in The Consummate Geoscientist: A Celebration of the Career of Maarten de Wit, edited by A. Hynes and J.B. Murphy. Geological Society of London Special Publication 531, p. 207-247,
• Wu, L., Murphy, J.B. and Nance, R.D. 2022. Evaluation of paleomagnetic bias in Ediacaran global paleogeographic reconstructions. Geophysical Research Letters, v.19, e2022GL100405,
• Kuiper, Y.D., Murphy, J.B., Nance, R.D., Strachan, R.A. and Thompson, M.D., eds. 2022. New developments in the Appalachian-Caledonian-Variscan orogen. Geological Society of America, Special Paper 554, 437 p. ISBN: 978-0-8137-2554-3.
• Nance, R.D., Evans, D.A.D. and Murphy, J.B. 2022. Pannotia: To be or not to be? Earth Science Reviews, v. 232, 104128,
• Zhou, X., Tian, W., Wu, G., Nance, R.D., Chen, Y., Zhao, Y., Yan W. and Zhang, Y. 2022. Geochemistry and U-         Pb-Hf zircon systematics of Cryogenian syn-rift magmatic rocks from the subsurface of the Tarim Craton: Implications for subduction-related continental rifting. Precambrian Geology, v. 377, 106733,
• Ma, B., Tian, W., Wu, G., Nance, R.D., Zhao, Y., Chen, Y. and Huang, S. 2022. The subduction-related the Great   Unconformity in the Tarim intracraton, NW China. Global and Planetary Change, v. 215, 103883,
• Zhou, X., Liu, W., Wu, G., Nance, R.D., Chen, Y., Xiao, Y., Yan, W., Zhao, Y., 2022. The latest Neoproterozoic basaltic and siliciclastic rocks and tectonic implications in the Tarim Craton, NW China, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, v. 232, 105148,
• Syahputra, R., Žák, J. and Nance, R.D. 2022. Cambrian sedimentary basins of northern Gondwana: geodynamic markers of incipient rifting of ribbon continents? Gondwana Research, v. 105, p. 492-513
• Nance, R.D., 2022. The supercontinent cycle and Earth’s long-term climate. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, v. 1515, p. 33-49,
• Zhu,G., Liu, W., Wu, G., Ma, B., Nance, R.D., Wang, Z., Xiao Y. and Chen, Z. 2021. Geochemistry and U-Pb-Hf detrital zircon geochronology of metamorphic rocks in terranes of the West Kunlun Orogen: Protracted subduction in the northernmost Proto-Tethys Ocean. Precambrian Research, v. 363, 106344,
• Murphy, J.B., Nance, R.D., Cawood, P.A., Collins, W.J., Dan, W., Doucet, L., Heron, P.J., Li, Z.-X., Mitchell, R.N., Pisarevsky, S., Pufahl, P., Quesada, C., Spencer, C.J., Strachan, R.A., Wu, L. 2021. Pannotia: In defence of its existence and geodynamic significance, in Pannotia to Pangaea: Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic Orogenic Cycles in the Circum-Atlantic Region, edited by J.B. Murphy, R.A. Strachan and C. Quesada. Geological Society of London Special Publication 503, p. 13-39,
• Heron, P.J., Murphy, J.B., Nance, R.D., Pysklywec, R.N. 2021. Pannotia's mantle signature: the quest for supercontinent identification, in Pannotia to Pangaea Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic Orogenic Cycles in the Circum-Atlantic Region, edited by J.B. Murphy, R.A. Strachan and C. Quesada. Geological Society of London Special Publication 503, p. 41-61,
• Nance, R.D., 2020. The supercontinent cycle, in Encyclopedia of Geology, 2e, edited by S. Elias and D. Alderton, Academic Press, Cambridge, MA, v. 3, p. 891-902,
• Wu, G., Yang, S., Nance, R.D., Chen, X., Liu, W., Wang, Z. and Xiao, Y. 2020. Switching from advancing to retreating subduction in the Neoproterozoic Tarim Craton, NW China: implications for Rodinia breakup. Geoscience Frontiers, v. 12, p. 161–171,
• Nance, R.D., Brown, K. and Clarke, T., 2019. Complete Guide to the Engine Houses of Mid-Cornwall, Lydney, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Lightmoor Press, 168 p. ISBN: 9781911038610.
• Murphy, J.B., Nance, R.D., Gabler, L.B., Martell, A. and Archibald, D.A. 2019. Age, geochemistry and origin of the Ardara Appinites, NW Ireland. Geoscience Canada, v. 46, p. 31-48,
• Nance, R.D. and Murphy, J.B. 2019. Supercontinents and the case for Pannotia, in Fifty Years of the Wilson Cycle Concept in Plate Tectonics, edited by R.W. Wilson, G.A. Houseman, K.J.W. McCaffrey, A.G. Doré and S.J.H. Buiter. Geological Society of London Special Publication 470, p. 65-85,
• Pastor-Galan, D., Nance, R.D., Murphy, J.B. and Spencer, C. 2019. Supercontinents: myths, mysteries, and milestones, in Fifty Years of the Wilson Cycle Concept in Plate Tectonics, edited by R.W. Wilson, G.A. Houseman, K.J.W. McCaffrey, A.G. Doré and S.J.H. Buiter. Geological Society of London Special Publication 470, p. 39-64,
• Murphy, J.B., Nance, R.D., Keppie, J.D. and Dostal, J. 2019. The role of Avalonia in the development of tectonic paradigms, in Fifty Years of the Wilson Cycle Concept in Plate Tectonics, edited by R.W. Wilson, G.A.Houseman, K.J.W. McCaffrey, A.G. Doré and S.J.H. Buiter. Geological Society of London Special Publication 470, p. 265-287,

Recent Advisee's M.S. Theses

• Gabler, L.B., 2016. Petrology of the Ardara appinites, Donegal, NE Ireland. M.S. thesis, in prep.
• Nease, E., 2014. Zircon inheritance in the Cornubian batholith: Constraints on Paleozoic paleogeography. M.S. thesis, in prep.
• Trainor, R.J., 2010. Structural-metamorphic history of the Novillo Gneiss, Ciudad Victoria, Mexico. M.S. thesis, 117 p.
• Barley, B., 2006. Polyphase deformation in the northern Acaltan Complex: San Miquel Las Minas, Puebla, southern Mexico. M.S. thesis, 58 p.
• Grodzicki, K., 2006. Structural, geochemical, and geochronological analysis of the Coatlacco area, Acatlan Complex, southern Mexico. M.S. thesis, 98 p.
• Hinojosa-Prieto, H.R., 2006. Tectonothermal historty of the La Noria-Las Calaveras region, Acatlan Complex, southern Mexico: Implications for Paleozoic tectonic models. M.S. thesis, 137 p.
• Dowe, D.A., 2004. Deformational history of the Granjeno Schist near Ciudad Victoria, Mexico. M.S. thesis, 106 p.
• Wessel, Z.R., 2004. Structural analysis of a potential peri-Gondwanan detachment: George River Suite-Bras Gneiss contact relations in the Creignish Hills, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. M.S. thesis, 104 p.
• Malone, J.W., 2000. Structural and kinematic history of the Tecomate and Cosoltepec Fomations, Acatlan Complex, southern Mexico. M.S. thesis, 103 p.
• Thomas, D.A., 1999. Structural evolution of the Antigonish Basin, Nova Scotia, M.S. thesis, 82 p.

Professional Recognition

• Visiting Fellow, Yale University, 2018-present
• Visiting EU Professorship, Charles University, Prague, 2020-2021
• Distinguished Scientist Award - Gesner Medal, Atlantic Geoscience Society,           2019
• Named Honorary Member of the Trevithick Society, 2018
• Elected to the College of Bards of Cornwall (Gorsedh Kernow), 2018
• Outstanding Associate Editor Geoscience Frontiers, 2018
• µÛÍõ»áËù Keystroke Catalyst Award, 2017
• Editor, Lithosphere, 2016
• Elected Fellow of the Geological Society of America, 2014
• Editor, GSA Today, 2011
• Associate Editor, Geoscience Frontiers, 2011
• Associate Editor, Gondwana Research, 2010
• Named Distinguished Professor, µÛÍõ»áËù, 2008
• Guest Editor, Gondwana Research, 2009
• Adjunct Professor, St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, 1999-present
• Who's Who in Science and Engineering 1996-present
• American Men and Women of Science 1994-present
• Editorial Board, Geological Magazine (Cambridge University Press) 1995-2006
• Editorial Board, Zeitschrift für Geologische Wissenschaften, (Dresden) 2001-2006
• Distinguished Faculty Award, Department of Geological Sciences, µÛÍõ»áËù 1992, 2003
• A to Z of Earth Scientists, Facts On File Notable Scientists Series, 1st Edition 2002
• Visiting Professor, Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. 2001
• Project Director, Program for North American Mobility in Higher Education 1996-2000
• W.F. James Professor of Pure and Applied Science, St. Francis Xavier University 1994
• College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award, µÛÍõ»áËù 1992
• Distinguished Lecturer, Atlantic Provinces Intercollegiate Council for the Sciences 1989
• Peer Review Panelist, DOE Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation 1984-1988
• µÛÍõ»áËù Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award Nominee 1984, 1987

Memberships

• Geological Society of America
• Royal Cornwall Geological Society
• International Association for Gondwana Research
• Geological Society of Connecticut
• Gorsedh Kernow (U.K.)
• Mining History Association
• International Stationary Steam Engine Society (U.K.)
• Dartmoor Tinworking Research Society (U.K.)