Richard J. Harrison is a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge and director of Studies for Earth and Mineral Sciences at St. Catharine's College, University of Cambridge.
[2] Harrison began his scientific career at the University of Cambridge, graduating in Mineral Sciences and then working as a postgraduate student under the guidance of Andrew Putnis.
His Ph.D. work, on magnetic and cation ordering in spinels, was followed by further studies into the relationships between magnetic properties and microstructure of minerals carried out at the Institut für Mineralogie in Münster and funded through personal Alexander von Humboldt and Marie Curie fellowships.
[3][4] In 2003 Harrison received the Max Hey Medal from the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
[5] In 2006 Harrison received the William Gilbert Award from the American Geophysical Union.