Where The Magic Happens
Current Serving YGS Council Members
At the Yorkshire Geological Society, we pride ourselves on being diverse, friendly & inclusive. Below is a list of current YGS council members, once you know who we are, come & say hello when you see us at events (or even in the street!).
Ru Smith | Council Member
Growing up in Yorkshire (and member of YGS as a youth), an early interest in the natural world led to two degrees in geology and an academic position. A planned couple of years in industry then stretched out beyond three decades with roles including Principal Technical Expert and Chief Geoscientist in a global energy company. I returned to academia in 2023 as adjunct Professor of Geology at Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. I’m a sedimentologist by background with a long record of using quantitative computer models to understand and measure aspects of geology across a large range of scales and resolutions. Most recently, the focus has been on very small scales, using microtomography to reveal new insights in palaeobiology and crystallography. Several species have been named for me, most recently (2024) Rusmithia gorochovi, a beautiful Eocene pygmy grasshopper in the tribe Rusmithini. I am currently re-acquainting myself with Yorkshire geology, in particular the Pennine Carboniferous, and also exploring the early history of geological investigations on the northern Carboniferous. It’s a delight to be involved with YGS again after all these decades.
