• BSc (University of Sheffield)
• PhD (Cardiff University)

Dr Hilton completed his PhD in Palaeobotany at Cardiff University in 1996 and was subsequently employed as a Curatorial Assistant at the National Museums of Wales in Cardiff and then a post-doctoral researcher in palaeobotany at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing for 18 months (1998-1999). In 1999 he commenced an NERC Independent Research Fellowship at Cardiff University that he transferred to the National Museums of Scotland in 2000 where he was employed as Curator of Palaeobotany. Dr Hilton joined the University of Birmingham in 2003.

Dr Hilton is one of the core members of the Earth Sciences (Geology) teaching team, and is module leader for the following modules:

• Year 1 geological field skills (20 credits)
• Year 2 evolutionary and environmental palaeobiology (10 credits)
• Year 2 resources of the earth (10 and 20 credit variants, co-led with Dr J. Renshaw)
• Year 3 practical and applied Geology (10 and 20 credit variants)
• Year 3 geology and archaeology projects (40 credits)

In addition he contributes to the following modules:

• Year 1 topics in geology (10 credit, essay module)
• Year 2 project planning (10 credit) and year 3 independent projects (20 credits project supervision)
• Year 3 dissertations (10 credits, essay moduel)
• Year 3 and 4 micropalaeontology
• Year 3 and 4 Earth History
• Year 4 Advances in geology (10 credit essay module)
• Year 4 advanced projects (60 credits project supervision) 

Dr Hilton currently supervises 1 doctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham (Ben Slater, 2009-2013) and is an external advisor to the doctoral research conducted by Alan Spencer at Imperial College.

• Ben Slater (PhD 2009-13; NERC funded project) – Fossil floras of the Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica. Project co-supervised with Dr S. McLoughlin (Stockholm) and G. Harrington (GEES).

Dr Hilton has previously supervised 5 doctoral researchers in Palaeozoic palaeobotany and evolutionary plant biology (Liadan Stevens 2009, Leyla Seyfullah 2009, Susan Hammond 2004, Sarah King 2012, Andrew Rees 2012), as well as an MPhil (Zoe Wickens) on 3-D computer reconstruction methods on Palaeozoic fossil plants.

Dr Hilton is willing to take on further doctoral researchers in projects that overlap with his research interests, and is especially interested in supervising research projects from overseas applicants from China.

Dr Hilton’s research has four the following focuses, but occasionally digresses into other research area including marine faunas and provenance of archaeological materials:

Seed plant evolution and phylogeny - This research addresses the origin, early evolution, systematics, evolution and phylogeny of seed plants, and includes information from both living and extinct seed plants, and includes recent research investigations on the origin of modern conifer families.

Community Change in fossil floras - This research area includes individual projects that focus on reconstructing terrestrial ecosystems though time, and looking at the floral response to environmental change. Particular foci include wetland plant communities in the Late Palaeozoic Cathaysian floras, changes in species composition and distribution over time, and key periods of radiation end extinction in the terrestrial realm.

Fossil plants as biospheric indicators - This research uses fossil plants as proxies for terrestrial palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironments, and ranges from studies of Late Palaeozoic gigantopterid plants with Ian Glasspool (Chicago Field Museum), Carboniferous and Permian plant adaptation with Liadan Stevens (Natural History Museum, London), as well as research on Tertiary fossil plant assemblages with Ming-Mei Liang (Birmingham).

Fossil plants from China - This research investigates exceptionally well preserved fossil ferns from China and focuses on evolutionary aspects of fossil plant morphology and anatomy, and is largely in collaboration with Prof. Shi-Jun Wang and doctoral researchers in Birmingham. 

Dr Hilton is an avid fossil collector and enjoys spending time in the field and reading, and avoiding tasks including cleaning cars and gardening. He is currently Plagiarism Officer for the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Dr Hilton is a prolific author in his field and has authored more than 70 papers to date - the following have been published since 2010 (for older articles please see full list of publications - PDF 44KB).

Wang, S. J., He X. H., Hilton, J., Seyfullah, L. J. and Shao, L. In press. Anatomy and organization of Zhongmingella (Li) gen. et comb. nov. from the Late Permian of China and its relationships with extinct Osmundalean ferns. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

Spencer, A. R. T., Hilton, J. and Sutton, M. D. In press. Combined methodologies for three–dimensional reconstruction of fossil plants preserved in siderite nodules: Stephanospermum braidwoodensis nov. sp. (Medullosales) from the Mazon Creek terrestrial lagerstätte. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.

Slater, B. J., McLoughlin, S. and Hilton, J. In press. Animal–plant interactions in a Middle Permian permineralised peat of the Bainmedart Coal Measures, Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica. Palaeoecology, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology.

Ryberg, P. E., Stockey, R. A., Hilton, J., Mapes, G., Riding, J. B. and Rothwell, G.W. 2012. Reconsidering relationships among stem and crown group Pinaceae: oldest record of the genus Pinus from the Early Cretaceous of Yorkshire, UK. International Journal of Plant Sciences 173: 917–932.

Womack, T., Slater, B. J., Stevens, L. G., Anderson, L. I. and Hilton, J. 2012. First cladoceran fossils from the Carboniferous: palaeoenvironmental and evolutionary implications. Palaeoecology, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology 345: 39–48.

Rothwell, G. W., Mapes, G., Stockey, R. A. and Hilton, J. 2012. The seed cone Eathiestrobus gen. nov.: fossil evidence for a Jurassic origin of Pinaceae. American Journal of Botany 99: 708–720.

Bateman, R. M., Hilton, J. and Rudall, P. J. 2011. Spatial separation and development divergences of male and female reproductive units in gymnosperms, and their relevance to the origin of the angiosperms. Pages 8–48 in: L. Wantorp and L. Ronse DeCraene (eds) Flowers and the tree of life. Systematics Association. ISBN–13: 9780521765992

Slater, B. J., McLoughlin, S. and Hilton, J. 2011. Guadalupian (Middle Permian) megaspores from a permineralized peat in the Bainmedart Coal Measures, Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 167: 140–155.

King, S. E., Cleal, C. J. and Hilton, J. 2011. Common ground between two British Pennsylvanian wetland floras: using large, first–hand data sets to assess quality of historical museum collections. Palaeoecology, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, 308: 405–417.

Seyfullah, L. J. and Hilton, J. 2011. Callistophytalean pteridosperms from the Permian floras of China. Palaeontology 54: 287–302.

Rudall, P.J., Hilton, J., Vergara–Silva, F., and Bateman, R. M. 2011. Recurrent abnormalities of conifer cones and the evolutionary origins of flower like structures. Trends in Plant Sciences 16: 151–159.

Stevens, L. G., Hilton, J., Bond, D. P. G., Glasspool, I. J. and Jardine, P. E. 2011. Radiation and extinction patterns in Pennsylvanian–Permian floras from North China as indicators of environmental and climate change. Journal of the Geological Society, London 168: 607–619. 

Rothwell, G. W., Stockey, R. A., Mapes, G. and Hilton, J. 2011. Structure and relationships of the Jurassic conifer seed cone Hughmillerites judii gen. et sp. nov.: implications for the early evolution of cupressaceae. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 164: 45–59.

Wang, H., Shao, L., Hao, L. M., Zhang, P. F., Glasspool, I. J., Wheeley, J. R., Wignall, P. B., Yi, T. S., Zhang, M. Q. and Hilton, J. 2011. Sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of the Lopingian (Late Permian) coal measures in southwestern China. International Journal of Coal Geology 85: 168–183.

Seyfullah, L. J., Hilton, J., Liang M. M. and Wang S. J.  2010. Resolving the systematic and phylogenetic position of isolated ovules: a case study from a new genus from the Upper Permian of China. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 164: 84–108.

Stevens, L. G., Hilton, J., Rees, A. R., Rothwell G. W. and Bateman, R. M.  2010. Systematics, phylogenetics and reproductive biology of Flemingites arcuatus, sp. nov., an exceptionally preserved and partially reconstructed Carboniferous arborescent lycopsid. International Journal of Plant Sciences 171: 783–808.

Bond D.P.G., Hilton, J. Wignall, P. B., Stevens, L. G., Ali, J. R., Sun, Y. and Lai, X. L. 2010. The Middle Permian (Capitanian) mass extinction on land and in the oceans.  Earth–Science Reviews 102: 100–116.