Prior to returning to academia to undertake his MSc in Structural Geology with Geophysics at the University of Leeds Derren worked in the waste minerals, quarrying and mining research field for over 12 years.
In close collaboration with industry he undertook research at the University of Leeds on the utilization of a variety of mineral wastes and organic residues to produce high specification lightweight aggregates for the construction industry.
As a project manager for the Mineral Industry Research Organisation he was responsible for coordinating a number of projects to minimize and mitigate the impacts of quarrying, the life cycle analysis of quarrying and understanding the beneficial use of waste in the construction sector.
Derren's long term aim was to be a geoscience researcher in geodynamics and is thus fulfilling a long term aim by undertaking his PhD at Birmingham.