Explore CSIRO

About CSIRO

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is Australia's national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world.

CSIRO's core areas of impact

Contact Enquiries: Phone - 1300 363 400 | Email - Enquiries@csiro.au | Contact Us

Resume

 
 printer friendly view
 
Photo of Dr Rob Hough using a scanning electron microscope
Dr Rob Hough - revealing a new view of gold

Dr Rob Hough: researching the properties of natural gold

Dr Rob Hough is researching the properties of natural gold and how it is deposited within the earth.

Current activities

Dr Rob Hough is a research scientist with CSIRO Exploration and Mining.

“There’s still a lot to be learnt from looking at gold and CSIRO hopes to be a global leader in this fascinating area of mineralogy.”
Dr Rob Hough, Research Scientist, CSIRO Exploration and Mining.

Using the largest research gold collection in Australia (valued at more than A$1 million) Dr Hough is able to study properties of gold that have previously been overlooked, ignored or were not known to have existed.

This research has allowed for a greater understanding towards the formation of gold deposits in the earth and challenges century old views of how gold nuggets are formed. This information will lead towards improved exploration methods that can be adopted by industry worldwide to help locate new deposits.

Background

Dr Hough has enjoyed a career in Earth and Planetary Sciences both locally and in the UK. Starting out as a Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Planetary Sciences at The Open University in the United Kingdom, Dr Hough then came to Australia to work as a Royal Society research fellow for the Western Australian Museum. 

In 2004 he joined the CSIRO Division of Exploration and Mining as a Post Doctoral Research Fellow, before becoming a Research Scientist in 2005.

Academic qualifications

Dr Hough has been awarded:

  • Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Geology from the University of London
  • Doctorate in Geology from the Open University, United Kingdom

Achievements

Dr Hough has authored publications in Nature, Geology and Science. 

He has received research funds in the form of fellowships from the Robert Blair Fellowship and the Royal Society.

In 2004 Dr Hough received the Western Australian Premier’s Award for Early Career Achievement in Science and the Perth Convention Bureau Scholarship in 2006.

Find out more about 

 

 
 

Profile

Name: Dr Rob Hough

Title: Research Scientist

Qualifications:

  • BSc (Hons) geology
  • PhD planetary sciences

Location: Australian Resources Research Centre, Perth, Western Australia

Expertise: geology and mineralogy

Current project: formation of gold deposits

Contact Information

Primary Contact

Dr Rob Hough
Research Scientist
Earth Science & Resource Engineering
Phone: 61 8 6436 8763 
Fax: 61 8 6436 8555 

Location

Australian Resources Research Centre (ARRC)
26 Dick Perry Avenue
Kensington WA 6151
Australia

PO Box 1130
Bentley WA 6102
Australia