Sanjeev Gupta is an Earth and Planetary Scientist at Imperial College London. He is interested in landscape evolution on planetary surfaces, with specific expertise in using the sedimentary rock record to decipher environmental change and habitability on Earth and Mars. His research has spanned a wide range of research questions. He is best known for his discovery of how Britan became an island through sonar mapping of the English Channel, showing that a series of catastrophic megafloods separated Britain from continental Europe. He has also worked at the interface of geoscience and archaeology, researching how river organization controlled early urbanization in the Bronze-age Indus culture. He successfully switched research fields to the planetary sciences and has become a leading scientist in reconstructing ancient sedimentary processes and landscapes on Mars to identify past habitable environments in the search for evidence of life on the red planet. This work has culminated in discoveries from ground-based observations of past rivers, deltas and lakes 3.5 billion years ago on Mars, and the recent reporting of potential biosignatures in lake mudstones at Jezero crater. He plays a senior scientific leadership role on both NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rover missions. He serves as a Long Term Planner for both missions working with NASA leadership with the responsibility for guiding the science teamthrough strategic rover operations and defining and prioritizing science goals.

Born in Agra, India, he grew up initially in northern India before moving at a young age to the UK. He studied geology at the University of Oxford, and after a stint working in western China he returned to Oxford to research the evolution of the French Alps for his PhD. In addition to his research and teaching, he is an enthusiastic champion for public engagement with science. He has worked extensively with museums and artists in communicating the latest discoveries from his research to large and diverse audiences. Gupta collaborated with the Royal Observatory Greenwich (ROG) for the ‘Visions of the Universe’ exhibition in 2013. He was scientific advisor to the ‘Moving to Mars’ exhibition at The Design Museum in London in 2019. He has worked with a number of artists to explore the cultural implications of the catastrophic formation of island Britain.

Second Sun is the electronic music project of Copenhagen based musician Jacob Rasmussen, presenting ambient soundscapes composed & performed on modular synthesizers, tape machines & effects pedals. The style is instrumental and minimalistic - sometimes with a beat, sometimes not.