Brian K. Horton is a Professor and the J. Nalle Gregory Chair in Sedimentary Geology at the Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin.
Brian's research focuses on sedimentary basin development and mountain building processes over a range of plate tectonic settings. He uses techniques in stratigraphy, sedimentology, geochronology, geochemistry, and structural geology to understand modern and ancient sedimentary processes, sediment provenance, and routing systems in order to understand the evolution of sedimentary basins and nonmarine/marine sediment dispersal systems.
Current projects involve students and collaborators exploring the sedimentary records of diverse basin systems and large river networks in South America, the Middle East, central Asia, and western North America.
Research Interests
- Modern and ancient clastic depositional systems
- Tectonic and climatic signatures in stratigraphic sequences
- Sedimentary geochronology, provenance, and sediment routing systems
- Geodynamics of sedimentary basins and orogenic systems
- Interactions of tectonics, climate, and erosion in fold-thrust belts and foreland basins
Founding Editor-in-Chief,
Stratigraphy and Sedimentology, open-access journal, www.mdpi.com/journal/stratsediment (2026)
Member,
Annual Performance Evaluation Committee, UT Institute for Geophysics, UT-Austin (2024 - 2026)
Member,
Faculty Search Committee, Structural Geology, Department of Geological Sciences, UT-Austin (2020 - 2021)
Editor,
Andean Tectonics, book with 24 chapters, 711 p., Elsevier, Amsterdam, ISBN: 978-0-12-816009-1, B.K. Horton and A. Folguera (2019)
Chair,
Graduate Studies Committee, Geosciences program, Office of Graduate Studies, UT-Austin (2019 - 2022)
Graduate Advisor,
Jackson School of Geosciences, UT-Austin (2019 - 2022)
Chair,
Faculty Search Committee, Sedimentary Geology, Department of Geological Sciences, UT-Austin (2019 - 2020)
Editorial Board,
Lithosphere, journal published by Geological Society of America (2018 - 2019)
Chair,
Annual Performance Evaluation Committee, UT Institute for Geophysics, UT-Austin (2018 - 2019)
Session Co-Chair,
International Association of Sedimentologists, International Meeting of Sedimentology, Sedimentary Basins symposium: Interactions of Sedimentation and Tectonics (2017)
Member,
Faculty Search Committee, Endowed Chair in Structural Geology, Department of Geological Sciences, UT-Austin (2017 - 2018)
Visiting Professor,
Yachay Tech University, School of Geological Sciences, Urcuquí, Ecuador (2016 - 2017)
Session Co-Chair,
AGU fall meeting, Building the Andes: from mantle geodynamics to surface processes (2015)
Chair (Inaugural),
Awards Committee, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT-Austin (2015 - 2018)
Chair (Inaugural),
Awards Committee, Department of Geological Sciences, UT-Austin (2015 - 2018)
Editor,
Geological Society of America Special Paper, Toward an improved understanding of uplift mechanisms and the elevation history of the Tibetan Plateau (v. 507, edited by J. Nie, B.K. Horton, and G.D. Hoke) (2014)
Session Co-Chair,
GSA annual meeting, The geodynamics of flat-slab subduction and its influence on upper plate deformation, magmatism, and basin evolution (2014)
Guest Editor,
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Special Issue: Tectonic and climatic shaping of the northern Andes and southern Caribbean margin (v. 39, edited by G. Bayona, B.K. Horton, and A. Reyes-Harker) (2012)
Session Co-Chair,
AAPG annual convention, Regional interaction of tectonics and sedimentation: Examining relationships between deformation and basin evolution (2010)
Exceptional Reviewer,
Lithosphere, journal published by Geological Society of America (2010)
Chair,
Faculty Search Committee, Structural Geology, Department of Geological Sciences, UT-Austin (2010 - 2011)
Editor,
Basin Research, (2009 - 2014)
Session Co-Chair,
AGU fall meeting, Cenozoic mountain building in Asia and South America: Impact on surface processes, erosion, climate change, and deep Earth processes (2009)
Editorial Board,
Lithosphere, journal published by Geological Society of America (2008 - 2014)
Member,
Faculty Search Committee, Structural Geology and Geochronology, Department of Geological Sciences, UT-Austin (2008 - 2009)
Exceptional Reviewer,
Geological Society of America Bulletin, journal published by Geological Society of America (2007)
Co-Supervisor of Paleomagnetics Laboratory,
with Dr. Jack Holt, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT-Austin (2006 - 2018)
Faculty Research Assignment (sabbatical research fellowship)
- UT-Austin (2024 - 2025)
Best Paper Award
- Society of Exploration Geophysicists (2022)
Knebel Teaching Award
- Department of Geological Sciences (2021)
Outstanding Researcher Award
- Institute for Geophysics, UT-Austin (2019)
Award for Excellence in Sedimentary Geology by a Mid-Career Scientist, William R. Dickinson Medal
- Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) (2018)
Outstanding Educator Award
- Jackson School of Geosciences, UT-Austin (2017)
Outstanding Researcher Award
- Institute for Geophysics, UT-Austin (2013)
Faculty Research Assignment (sabbatical research fellowship)
- UT-Austin (2012 - 2013)
Outstanding Research Award
- Jackson School of Geosciences, UT-Austin (2011)
Directors Circle of Excellence Award
- Institute for Geophysics, UT-Austin, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2024, 2025 (2011 - 2025)
Humboldt Research Fellowship
- Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany (2006 - 2007)
Fellow
- Geological Society of America (2005)
Young Scientist Award, Donath Medal
- Geological Society of America (2004)
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
- National Science Foundation (1998 - 1999)
Graduate Research Fellowship
- National Science Foundation (1993 - 1996)
