Dr Rachelle Kernen is an Australian Research Council (ARC) Early Career Industry Fellow and a recipient of the prestigious Global Talent Visa, which grants permanent residency upon arrival in Australia. 

Dr Kernen was competitively chosen for the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Resources (ISER) Leadership Committee and recently won the Centre for Energy Technology (CET) Award for Best Contribution to Research Quality (ECR) at the University of Adelaide. She is also a Superstar of STEM, as recognized by Science and Technology Australia (2023-2024).

Dr Kernen has worked in prestigious industry-led consortia in the USA (Institute of Tectonics Studies, Salt-Sediment Interaction Research Consortium, Applied Geodynamics Laboratory) with globally recognized industry sponsors such as Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon, Chevron, BP, and Woodside, where she delivered high-quality industry research for over 15 years. Dr. Kernen has authored ten papers and 17 industry conference abstracts in highly regarded journals, including the American Association of Petroleum Geology Bulletin. Dr Kernen has contributed to four salt tectonic textbooks and journal volumes and served as lead editor for two. She has given many technical oral presentations (>50) and chaired technical sessions (>10) at national and international conferences. She has provided interviews/content for webinars, panels, blogs, podcasts, and documentaries on clean energy (< 20). Please see a complete list of Dr Kernen's publications and industry conference abstracts on Google Scholar.

Dr Kernen leads a research team dedicated to developing research based on the following topics to make several breakthrough discoveries:

1) Salt-sediment interaction in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia, is coeval with the onset of dramatic changes in Earth’s climate that form the depositional environments where the origin of complex life evolves. Read more HERE.

2) Sedimentologic and stratigraphic studies in salt basins as outcrop analogs to develop hydrogen storage pilots in salt caverns. Read more HERE.

For more information on Dr Kernen's research, please visit her LinkedIn and Research Gate profiles. To contact her directly, please e-mail rachelle.kernen@adelaide.edu.au.

Dr Kernen received competitive Industry Fellowships for her MSc (2011) and PhD (2019) degrees in Geology from New Mexico State University and The University of Texas at El Paso. During her MSc and PhD, she was a research associate for the industry-sponsored Salt-Sediment Interaction Research Consortium (Institute of Tectonic Studies). She taught geology labs and classes in Petroleum Geology, Introduction to Geology, History of Life, and Depositional Environments as part of her Fellowships.

Dr Kernen is passionate about volunteering for professional societies and currently serves as the Hydrogen Society of Australia Chair for South Australia and is on the organizing committees for the 1) Geological Society of Australia South Australia, 2) South Australia Exploration and Mining Conference, and 3) American Association of Petroleum Geologists Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Conference.

Dr Kernen is also passionate about science communication and promoting scientific research to the media, policymakers, and the general community. She regularly gives radio, podcast, and documentary interviews, writes media articles, participates in community events and school outreach, and contributes during University Open Days and National Science Week. Please see a complete list of Dr Kernen's media profile on LinkTree.

Dr Rachelle Kernen is recruiting Honours, Master's, and PhD students to work on various projects spanning sedimentology, stratigraphy, salt-sediment interaction, and net-zero energy. Please don't hesitate to contact Rachelle directly with your expression of interest.