Dave Dewhurst was awarded a bachelor’s degree in geology from Sheffield University, United Kingdom (1987), and a doctorate in physics from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom (1991), for work on noble gas migration during rock deformation. From 1992 to 1998, he worked on fluid flow in mud-rich overpressured accretionary complexes, the role of compaction and lithology on the physical properties of mudrocks and polygonal faulting in North Sea mudrocks.

Dewhurst joined Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in 1998 as a research scientist, working on pore pressure prediction and fault/top seal issues. Since 2009, he has led two consortia on both overburden and gas shales, investigating the links between geomechanics, rock physics and petrophysical properties. He has also worked on top/fault seal properties and geomechanics for geological storage of CO2. He is currently a chief research scientist at CSIRO leading the Geomechanics and Multiphysics Group as well as the CSIRO Geomechanics and Geophysics Laboratory.