Associate ProfessorMaria Seton

Maria Seton is a marine geoscientist specialising in global and regional plate tectonics and geodynamics. She is an Associate Professor in the School of Geosciences, a coordinator of the EarthByte Research Group and a member of the Marine Studies Institute (MSI) and Net Zero Institute (NZI). Her research integrates geological and geophysical data with quantitative plate reconstructions and geodynamic modelling to understand the evolution of ocean basins, continental margins, and mantle processes through deep time.

Maria completed her PhD at the University of Sydney in 2005. She was awarded an ARC Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2009 and an ARC Future Fellowship in 2013. In 2014, she received the Dorothy Hill Medal from the Australian Academy of Science for excellence in Earth sciences research and in 2026 was awarded the S.W. Carey Medal from the Geological Society of Australia for her outstanding contribution and impact in the field of tectonics.

She has a strong research track-record in securing competitive government and industry funding and has research collaborations across Australia, New Zealand, UK, France and USA. She currently serves on the Science Evaluation Panel (SEP) of IODP³ having previously served on the Research Advisory Committee for the Marine National Facility (CSIRO) and the Science Committee of ANZIC.