Hi, I'm John, and I run technical services in the SaltWork consultancy. Writing these articles comes out my ongoing interest in all matters evaporitic. I have over 30 years of experience working in saline systems focusing on applied aspects of carbonate-evaporite interactions, and I am the compiler of the SaltWork GIS database. In addition, I have written a few books on evaporites and saline geosystems and published several scientific papers dealing with these topics.

In my previous life as a full-time academic, I had day-to-day interaction with pettiness and time-sinks involved in dealing with overpaid and underworked educational bureaucracies in western universities. The inherent herd-think was too much of a time sink, so I resigned from academia at a western University.

Today, I prefer to work each year living and consulting, based on the coast in Adelaide, Australia. For a portion of each year, I also work as a part-time academic in southeast Asia, where people have a "can-do" attitude. Over the years, I have worked as a consultant on various saline rock and carbonate reservoir characterization problems in hydrocarbon and base metals exploration.

As well, I run training programs often tied to this consultancy; past clients include; INPEX, MMG, Chevron International, Exxon International, BHP Billiton Resources, BHP Billiton Petroleum, BHP, Homestake, Pasminco, Shell International, Statoil, PTTEP, ADNOC, Saudi Aramco, Nexen, NIOC, VPI and others.