Like many of his colleagues, Brett is a structural geologist. In particular he is a structural geologist who believes that to solve a problem properly requires a quantitative solution. It is this numerical background that led him into programming.

His PhD in quantitative microstructure was undertaken at Nottingham and completed in 1985. It produced several papers still cited today in the microstructural literature.   From Nottingham Brett moved to Newcastle University for five years, where he taught structural geology and computing. During this time his research interests increased in scale and he took up a one-term research position at BIRPS (deep seismic reflection profiling) in Cambridge, working on seismic imaging of the Iapetus Suture. This work produced a major paper which was to become one of the most-highly cited articles in the Journal of Structural Geology over the last decade.

In 1988 Brett severed his university links and joined Badleys, with the specific task of setting up the new computing group and writing the first version of TrapTester (FAPS). Once at Badleys his university links were quickly re-established as he began a long and continuing collaboration with the Liverpool Fault Analysis Group (now at Dublin) over the development of the geological ideas behind TrapTester. As the programming load for TrapTester increased Brett required the assistance of a full programming group, for which he is now the Head of Software Development.

While programming remains Brett's primary responsibility he has continued to develop his skills as a structural geologist, resulting in several published papers on fault analysis and editing the Geological Society Special Publication, The Geometry of Normal Faults.

Brett is a Technical Director of Badley Geoscience Limited.