Introducing our new VIPS President: An Interview with John Browning

We interviewed Dr John Browning, the new President of the IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic and Igneous Plumbing Systems (VIPS). John is an Associate Professor in rock mechanics and geology in the Department of Mining Engineering and the Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. 

Get to know more about John and his research interests below.

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Tell us about your research field and how you became interested in it?

My research field is broadly volcanotectonics. I’m interested in the interaction between crustal stress and volcanic structures, the formation of faults and fractures and the movement and storage of magma. To study processes related to these issues, I combine structural geology field measurements with experimental rock deformation and commonly finite element method numerical or analytical modelling.

My first degree was in Environmental Hazards and Disaster Management, from Kingston University, and for much of that I was really interested in the effects and mitigation of disasters more than the physics of the geologic processes that generate hazards. My focus changed during a fieldtrip in 2008 run by the late Dr Neil Thomas to the island of Tenerife, which hosts the impressive Las Cañadas Caldera and Volcan Teide. I was in awe of the structures and volcanic deposits that we studied and that really set me on a path into physical volcanology. I moved on to Lancaster University to pursue a Masters degree in Volcanology and Geological Hazards and and worked with Hugh Tuffen and Mike James on bubble growth processes in rhyolitic bombs from Chaiten volcano, Chile. It was also during this period that I got my first taste of active volcanism, together with Mike, Neil Slatcher and Laura Becerril we deployed long-range laser scanning technology to image the growth of a scoria cone at Mt Etna.

I then moved to Royal Holloway, University of London to undertake a PhD with Agust Gudmundsson on the formation and link between collapse calderas and magma chambers and during this time I also worked closely with Philip Meredith at UCL performing high-temperature thermal cracking experiments. Those experiences at the Rock and Ice Physics Lab at UCL really instilled in me the importance of accurate characterization the evolution of rock properties under crustal conditions and provided me with a new exciting research path which I continued during a post-doc working on true-triaxial rock deformation with Tom Mitchell.

Do you have a favourite volcanic system or region in which to work? 

I’ve been lucky to work at several different ancient and active volcanoes. Recently, my work has focused on better understanding the magma plumbing and geothermal system of the Nevados de Chillan volcanic complex in the Southern Volcanic Zone of the Chilean Andes, which is where the 2nd International VIPS Conference will be held in late 2026! This is a really interesting place to work since the basement rocks, upon which the active volcano lies, are exposed and easy to access in many places, and there are several wonderful surface manifestations of the active geothermal system bubbling and steaming away. Our work over the last four or so years has helped develop a better understanding of how fracture systems control geothermal fluid flow and influence magma propagation paths. It’s an especially impressive place to work when the volcano is covered in a light dusting of snow! Special mentions to the various ancient and eroded volcanoes in Iceland and the caldera cut cliffs of Santorini volcano where I spent periods of my PhD collecting data.

What are some of the biggest challenges in your field?

I think the main challenge in the field of volcanotectonics is generating reliable models that can be used to forecast magma chamber rupture and crustal magma propagation. Ultimately, determining the path that magma takes to the surface is of paramount importance since that directly influences where and when an eruption occurs and the associated volcanic hazards. It’s not an easy task though! To be able to do this I think we need to have the stress field within a volcano really tightly constrained such that models could be used to assess how the stress and strain field evolves as magma accumulates in a chamber and as it makes its way to the surface. That’s a challenge as we can’t directly measure a volcanoes’ stress field. We need better constraints on the rock properties of each volcano in question, how those properties evolve with time, temperature, and pressure, and then utilize analog or numerical models to make predictions about how those property evolutions will modify the stress state. In terms of the geometry or form of each volcano’s magma plumbing system, this really is key since the stress state may locally arrest magma and form sills and magma chambers, which are areas of elevated geothermal gradient and can be potentially tapped for energy. 

Looking back on your career, can you share some of your proudest moments?

My proudest moments have been seeing my postgraduate students defend their respective research projects, graduate and move on to new and exciting volcano and igneous plumbing system related adventures. To name a few, Matias Clunes completed his PhD with me last year and is now a NERC postdoctoral researcher at Portsmouth University working on an exciting project looking at the seismic signals associated with experimental dyke injection events at elevated pressure and temperature conditions. Matias Villarroel graduated from his PhD earlier this year and is now working at University College Dublin as an ERC postdoc generating numerical models to better understand the role of rock alteration on volcano stability. Sandy Drymoni now spends her time between the Jet Propulsion Lab, Munich and Fairbanks in Alaska working on lots of interesting problems related to magma movement, ground deformation and cooling joint formation. I also couldn’t be prouder of Jorge Cortez, who, whilst battling cancer, continues to amaze me with his insight and fascination with finite elements – watch this space for some very cool coupled thermo-mechanical dyke induced stress models.

What motivated you to take on the role of VIPS Commission President?

I believe IAVCEI is an important organization for our community and I wanted to take a more active role in contributing and helping to shape it. As a student, I participated in several IAVCEI events and benefited directly from the support and activities that the members provided. Now I want to ensure that we continue to support early career researchers and beyond, from all over the world, in conducting volcano research and more specifically VIPS focussed research. Further, the opportunity to continue the excellent work done by Steffi Burchardt, Janine Kavanagh and Catherine Annen, as former VIPS commission presidents, is a daunting but exciting challenge!

What are the key priorities for your term?

I’m keen to make sure that in the VIPS commission we continue to support our diverse global member group by providing space for discussion about VIPS research and giving the opportunity for researchers to disseminate their work amongst the community, especially those early career researchers. Last year, we had an online VIPS seminar presented by Italo Payacan which was excellent. We hope to continue with a series of online seminars later this year. Further, there is the exciting LASI meeting in Iceland in September and a VIPS focused session at IAVCEI. I encourage everyone to get involved with all of these activities. As I previously mentioned, we are aiming to host the 2nd International VIPS Conference in late 2026 in Chile and further information about this will be coming soon.  

What advice do you have for early career researchers within the VIPS community?

I encourage early career researchers to be active and involved within our VIPS and the broader IAVCEI community. Telling us what they need or how we can offer support is really valuable and so don’t be shy in coming forward in this regard. Further, the VIPS community is constantly evolving and so remaining engaged with the VIPS website and social media for new opportunities is recommended. My main hope is that our early career researchers feel welcome and supported within our community such that they feel confident to share their research or contribute with questions/comments on others research. Having the space for that scientific dialogue is what I think will drive our community forward. My advice for ERC’s is use your voice to shape the future of VIPS research!

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As we welcome John, join us in thanking our outgoing President Catherine Annen for her leadership in the previous term.

Would you like to be featured on our blog?

We’re on the hunt for fellow VIPS enthusiasts to share their stories, whether you’re a student, an early career researcher (ECR) or more experienced researcher – we want to hear from you!

Do you have a new paper to tell the world about? Or have you been involved in some exciting fieldwork recently? Get in touch at info@vipscommission.org to tell us what’s going on in your field of VIPS.