Dr. Dixon is a Professor in the Marine Geology and Geophysics Division of the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science. He received a B.Sc. degree in Geology from the University of Western Ontario , London , Ont. Canada , and a Ph.D. degree in Earth Sciences from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California , San Diego . His areas of research include crustal deformation and plate motion and volcano monitoring.