Dirk Smit, PhD, is Senior Scientific Advisor to Nexaltis Minerals. Dirk Smit was previously Shell’s first Chief Scientist. Over his career at Shell he held roles including Chief Geophysicist for Shell UK, VP Exploration and Upstream Technology, and VP Research Strategy, before becoming Shell’s first Corporate Chief Scientist in 2019. Dirk is a Fellow of the American Physics Society and member of the Dutch National academy of Engineering. He received the Ludwig Mintrop Award in Geophysics and holds visiting positions at Oxford University (Martin School and Earth Sciences) and MIT (Earth Resources Lab Fellow). Post-Shell, Dirk has advised US and European governments on energy strategy, and startups in nuclear fusion, quantum computing, and geologic hydrogen. Dirk holds a PhD in Mathematical Physics and String Theory from Utrecht University and completed postdoctoral appointments at UC Berkeley and Harvard University​.​