Professor Alan Collins studied in the Royal School of Mines, London and earned a PhD in Edinburgh working on thrust sheets and basins in southern Turkey. He has been at the University of Adelaide for 16 years and was previously at the University of Perth for 6 years. He is a geologist with several research interests related to past plate tectonics. He is one of the leaders of the Tectonics and Earth Systems Group (TES) and has benefited from his wonderful staff and students. He is the president of the Geological Society of Australia–South Australia division, Fellow of the Geological Society of Australia, and was awarded their S.W. Carey Medal in 2021.