Posted in Glaciology

Updated! Bioglaciology, Dr. Joseph Cook @tothepoles: A Day in the GeoLife Series

Dr. Joseph Cook

Dr. Joseph Cook, Bioglaciologist

UPDATED: April 9, 2016

NAME: Joseph Cook

CURRENT TITLE:  Postdoctoral Research Assistant (PDRA), University of Sheffield, United Kingdom (UK)

AREA OF EXPERTISE:  I am currently working on the Natural Environment Research Council’s (NERC) Black and Bloom project which aims to determine the effect of algal blooms and black carbon deposition on the melt rate of the Greenland Ice Sheet. My specific focus is on measuring and modelling interactions between sunlight and ice surfaces.

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE:  I have been working in cryosphere research since 2008.

EDUCATION:  My PhD examined microbial carbon cycling on the Greenland Ice Sheet and Svalbard glaciers, Norway. I then had a lectureship at the University of Derby (UK) where I developed a research agenda focussed on ice as a living landscape (‘biocryomorphology’). In February 2016, I moved back to the University of Sheffield to work on Black and Bloom.

greenland

Taking shallow ice cores on the Greenland Ice Sheet in August 2014 (Photo copyright: A. Edwards)

Dr. Joseph Cook

Taking shallow ice cores in the accumulation zone on the Greenland Ice Sheet, August 2014. (Photo copyright: A. Edwards)

WEBSITE: http://tothepoles.wordpress.com

What’s your job like?

It suits me perfectly – I am free to be creative and manage my own time, but also have a very clear set of challenging objectives to meet.

What’s a typical day like?

At the moment, I commute in to Sheffield to be at my desk by 8:30 a.m. I’m a morning person and generally try to organise my day so that the most mentally challenging and/or creative tasks are addressed first-thing. That usually means opening up Matlab or Python and working on a model, and analysing some data or writing papers. Sometimes I’ll get carried away and still be glued to the screen at 5:30 p.m. – but usually I’ll move on to organizing upcoming field work, testing equipment and generating preliminary data, designing and running laboratory work, helping out some of the PhD students or catching up on the ever-growing stack of unread literature. Most days I correspond with the other PDRAs on the project, or a project partner, or the principal investigators (PIs) about something. Every now and then a journal will ask me to review a paper, and I always try to do so unless it is way out of my expertise. My wife also works in Sheffield, so we usually meet between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to commute back home together.

In summer, everything changes – we deploy into a field camp and daily life becomes a routine of camp management and maintenance, field measurements and lots of unforeseen troubleshooting! Once we return, life will be all about analyzing the data collected in the field and writing up the results for publication.

bioglaciology

Taking spectral reflectance measurements with colleague Tris Irvine-Fynn on the Greenland Ice Sheet in August 2014. (Photo Copyright: A Edwards)

What’s fun?

All of it! It is a really exciting job, and I feel very lucky to be working on such an interesting project with great people.

Like most polar scientists, I look forward to field work, but I am also really happy to sit down and code or put in the hours in the lab, and I like writing – so there are rarely days I don’t enjoy.

I’m really grateful for the access to training opportunities and advice from the top scientists in the field – it has been an intense learning experience so far, and I’ve enjoyed every minute.

What’s challenging?

All of it! That’s what makes it exciting and satisfying!

What’s your advice to students?

Post-doc life is very free and flexible; however, it also requires a lot of commitment. It’s hard to switch off – I rarely do. I enjoy it, and I get a lot of satisfaction out of contributing to the project. My advice to students considering a similar job is that you really need to care about the project.

Greenland drone

Drone shot from the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet in July 2015.

 

 

Dr. Joseph Cook

Dr. Joseph Cook

ORIGINAL POST DATE:  October 2, 2014

NAME:  Dr. Joseph Cook

CURRENT TITLE:  Lecturer in Life and Natural Sciences, University of Derby, United Kingdom

AREA OF EXPERTISE:  My background is in glaciology, in particular the “bioglaciological” processes that operate on ice surfaces. My PhD thesis focussed upon carbon fluxes in and around “cryoconite holes” – quasi-cylindrical pits on glacier surfaces that house a range of microbes.

YEARS EXPERIENCE:  I have held this position for one year (since September 2013), so have only just settled into my current role.

EDUCATION:  I completed my PhD at the University of Sheffield, where I was also an undergrad (BSc Physical Geography).

WEBSITE:   http://tothepoles.wordpress.com

What’s your job like?

My job is very varied. The first year was very hectic. The learning curve was very steep, the hours long, and I was also commuting two hours each way each day to get to and from the uni.  However, there are many hugely rewarding aspects of the job that balance it out! I spend my time with a diverse group of great students, staff and collaborators, and I am constantly learning and rarely have dull days. I feel very lucky to have a job that allows me to engage with my research – days when I can sit and think or write on my research for a few hours doesn’t feel like work at all!

My area of research interest is in glacier microbial processes, but this is very specific and my teaching is much wider than that. That means I have to maintain a high level of knowledge in a broad range of subjects – I’ve already seen the benefit to my research of engaging with seemingly disparate topics. I always go home feeling like I’ve really used my brain, and that’s a great feeling!

Each teaching session is like a project in its own right – it takes planning, resources, preparation and finally, delivery. A lot of work goes into each session – it’s a great feeling to be in a session knowing it is going well and the students are engaged, challenged and motivated by the activities you’ve devised. It’s great to see students go away more enthused for something than when they arrived.

What’s a typical day like?

My days tend to include a mixture of teaching and admin, and on average twice a week I will get approximately three hours in the morning to sit and engage properly with research or outreach – either analysing data from past field work, writing up manuscripts or preparing grant applications, or writing something for my website. Teaching is usually three or four-hour blocks during which I will usually lecture for anywhere between 45 minutes and 2 hours, set a practical exercise in the lab, on the computer, in the field or for group discussion, leaving half an hour for feedback and reflection at the end, but every session is different! Prior to each session, I will prepare by tweaking and updating lecture materials and checking the practical exercises and looking at my notes from last year – sometimes this is a half-hour job and sometimes it takes hours! Then there is admin, meetings and outreach work to do.

Several times during the year I go away on field work, either with students (this year I have taken groups to Assynt and Crete) or independently (this year, summer was spent on the Greenland ice sheet). These are the most memorable and exciting times!

What’s fun?

Field work is fun – whether student trips or research trips. My summer in a field camp on the Greenland ice sheet with colleagues from Aberystwyth University and the Dark Snow Project was unforgettable and very productive research-wise. Similarly, the Crete field trip is one of the highlights of the undergraduate programme here – hard work but great fun for both the staff and students!

I recently took a group of third-year students to the British Geological Survey in Keyworth – that was really interesting and a great learning experience for me and the students!

The students I teach are often a lot of fun to work with – they are usually energetic and put me through my paces!

Dr. Joseph Cook standing by a supraglacial stream. Copyright Sara Penrhyn-Jones

Dr. Joseph Cook standing by a supraglacial stream. Copyright Sara Penrhyn-Jones

What’s challenging?

In my first year, the major challenge was really time management. Having no materials to draw from and building every teaching session from scratch before delivering it, learning to complete the admin tasks correctly and juggle marking, feedback and student support whilst maintaining a research career was a big task. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan — for example the timings of a teaching session might not work quite right or students interest lie in an unexpected part of the material that was less well resourced – that can be frustrating but ultimately forces me to be flexible and let things flow more organically – that’s a good thing!

Now. things have settled down a little bit. I think the major challenge is constantly reviewing teaching materials and updating things to make sure the students are always being given up-to-date information on the most relevant topics.

I am really passionate about my research, and it can be challenging to find time to engage with it and to stay upbeat when it’s not going as smoothly as I’d like!

What’s your advice to students?

Choose a subject you love to study. The lectures and tutorials at uni are only the start of your journey – the meat of your learning will be self-motivated, so you need to really want to get into the library and absorb as much information as possible.

Also, question everything – no lecturer will think less of you for asking questions, and there is no such thing as a stupid one – questions show engagement and an enquiring mind – these are great qualities!

Earth Science Artist, Jill Pelto @GlaciogenicArt: A Day in the GeoLife Series

Earth Scientist, Jill Pelto

Portrait: I love being immersed in nature for long periods of time. The privilege to travel and work in the field is one of my favorite parts of working as an Earth Scientist. I enjoy backpacking trips in my free time as well. Here I am in the Bigelow Range in Western Maine. ©2016 Jill Pelto

NAME: Jill Pelto

CURRENT TITLE:  Professional Artist, University of Maine (UMaine) Alumnus

AREA OF EXPERTISE: Communication of Scientific Research through Art

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE:  4.5 years undergraduate; 7 years as a field assistant on three separate projects; and 3 years student research assistant. Currently in first year as a full-time professional artist.

EDUCATION:  Double Major: BA in Studio Art and BA in Earth Science at UMaine. Plan to attend UMaine to receive my MA in Earth Science focused on Glacial Geology and Paleoclimate beginning Fall 2016.

WEBSITE: http://jillpelto.com

What’s your job like?

I am just beginning my career as both a scientist and an artist, and so I am finding out how to create a unique job that allows me to follow my passions and inspire others to make environmentally conscious changes. The first step to any piece of art is research, which can be done via fieldwork, scientist collaborations, or self-directed reading.

While doing research in the field, I take photographs, create field sketches, and make notes about changes I see or elements of the landscape that catch my eye. All of the observations I make during any field project inspire art pieces when I return home. I have also begun to work with fellow scientists: I discuss their areas of research, read about their work, and create art that communicates that information in a new way. This is similar to my approach when I self direct a project: I research a topic on my own via online articles in order to develop the concept behind my art. These three approaches define the scientific part of my job. I look forward to doing my own research as a Master degree student and learning how to develop an extensive science thesis that will inspire a body of artwork.

As I am currently between studies and field projects, my job currently consists of developing my artistic career. I am connecting with artists and scientists, selling artwork, doing interviews, researching topics to address, and looking for places to exhibit my work. I am also consistently working on one or several pieces of art.

What’s a typical day like?

I will describe a typical day in the field working on both science and art! I have worked with the North Cascade Glacier Climate Project for seven years: two and a half weeks each August. Our work day starts early: after breakfast we hike to the glacier we are camped below and begin our measurements. These involve mapping the terminus, probing for snow depth, measuring snow depth in crevasse stratigraphy, measuring crevasse dimensions, finding the surface slope, and recording supraglacial stream flow velocities.

crevasse

Measuring Crevasse Depth: Me using a Cam-Line Measuring Tape to determine crevasse depths on Easton Glacier, Mt. Baker, WA. Measurements of the characteristics and distribution of crevasses on glaciers in the North Cascade Range, Washington may be used to quantify crevasse response to ice retreat. In order to identify a relationship between alpine glacier health and the size and extent of crevasses, I have measured the physical characteristics of 204 crevasses across seven glaciers in the North Cascades (2012-2015). ©2016 Jill Pelto

We work until late afternoon or early evening, and then I will begin a field sketch. I observe the landscape and ecosystem and choose a particular aspect of it to represent: the changing terminus position, the meltwater that provides for the plants and animals, or the scientists at work.

Lower Curtis Glacier

Field watercolors: Here I am painting the beautiful melt pools and crevasses on Lower Curtis Glacier, Mt. Shuksan, WA. I bring a set of watercolors and and brushes whenever I do field work in order to capture different aspects of the ecosystem. Doing these field sketches allows me to take the time and observe different elements of the landscape in detail, and inspire art pieces when I return home. ©2016 Jill Pelto

My typical day when I first return home involves looking through my group of watercolors from the field season. I sit down and write and make small sketches about what I have learned and observed. During our most recent (August 2015) field season, I was deeply saddened by the catastrophic result of the drought in Washington. When I returned to Maine, I created a series about the consequences of climate change I had witnessed.  The three pieces are titled very literally: Decrease in Glacier Mass Balance, Salmon Population Decline, and Increasing Forest Fire Activity. Scientific research and data from our project and from other scientists fueled this series, allowing me to communicate with people the importance of these issues.

glacier mass balance

Decrease in Glacier Mass Balance uses measurements from 1980-2014 of the average mass balance for a group of North Cascade, WA glaciers. Mass balance is the annual budget for the glaciers: total snow accumulation minus total snow ablation. Not only are mass balances consistently negative, they are also continually decreasing. ©2016 Jill Pelto

What’s fun?

The most fun part about science are the opportunities to travel and do field work. Nothing beats being surrounded by nature and living out of tents for several weeks to months each year. I love all the wonderful sights: wildlife, wildflowers, interesting rocks, patterns in glacial ice, and mountains as far as the eye can see. These are the moments when I feel so lucky to be an Earth Scientist.

When I am not in the field I have the most fun when I am painting a work of art. As fascinating as the research and sketching part of the art process is, I most enjoy when I begin to use water and pigment to manipulate my drawings into beautiful renderings of color and form. These are the times when I feel so fortunate to be an Artist.

earth art

Proxies for the Past is inspired by the universal unknowns, which humans try to solve by using materials such as ice cores, tree rings, and lichens to date past climate events. Nature reveals some of itsí secrets in these concentric forms, allowing us to determine information such as the data depicted: the average global temperature of Earth from 11,000 years ago to present. Thus, natural materials help us to understand a small portion of Earth’s history. ©2016 Jill Pelto

What’s challenging?

As I am just beginning my career, there are many new and difficult challenges arising. It is difficult to learn enough about any particular scientific topic to feel like I have a real grasp on it, yet I know holistic understanding will be extremely important for completing my Master’s degree and beyond as a professional scientist. Because there are countless topics in Earth Science, and each one is complex, it is daunting to step into the field and feel as though I can become as learned as the other students and professors.

The challenge as an artist is similar. I am struggling with a lot of vital yet difficult questions such as pricing and marketing my work, how to consistently make artwork, and how to continue to evolve as an artist outside of the classroom.

What’s your advice to students?

I just finished my undergraduate double major in December 2015, so my advice is based on my very recent experiences. What has allowed me success both in and out of school is seeking and taking opportunities. Whether it is an interesting part time job, a chance to travel, or an award to enter, it always helps to try. These opportunities enrich me and help me find unforeseen connections. Don’t be afraid to take a risk and seek something out even if you think the odds are slim or for any other reason! I also would advise students to build relationships with their classmates and professors. The advice, support, and critique they give you is worth so much and will lead to lasting connections!

Geography Lecturer, Glaciers, Peter G. Knight @petergknight: A Day in the GeoLife Series

geography

Dr. Peter G. Knight, Head of Geography Programmes, Keele University, United Kingdom

NAME:  Peter G. Knight

CURRENT TITLE:  Reader in Geography

AREA OF EXPERTISE:  It’s a little hard to pin down, but for this exercise, let’s say glaciers.

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE:  30 years as a lecturer at Keele University

EDUCATION:  Undergraduate degree in Geography at Oxford University (1980-83), and a PhD on Glaciers in the Geography Department at Aberdeen University (1984-1987)

WEBSITE: http://www.petergknight.com

TWITTER: @petergknight @PKGeog

NEW BOOK:  How to do your Dissertation in Geography 3rd ed.

What’s your job like?

My job is very varied. Like most academics, my roles and activities vary day by day, season by season, year by year and even decade by decade. At some points in my career, I have been chasing off at every opportunity to far-flung corners of the globe to hit glaciers with sticks, while at other points, life has been very much filled with Quality Assurance Committees, Programme Validation Panels and workload allocation models. One consistent theme throughout the last 30 years for me has been undergraduate teaching, so I guess I would say that the core of my job involves trying to understand the world better and encouraging students to try and understand it better as well.

What’s a typical day like?

In geography, as in most things, what you see depends on the timescale over which you look. Looking back at the last 30 years or so, over what a geomorphologist might call “cyclic time,” there is no such thing as a typical day. A day at work could involve running around teaching, traveling to a remote wilderness environment to measure something, sitting at home marking exams, attending administrative meetings, negotiating with a publisher, or trying to make supercooled ice crystals in the low-temperature laboratory. Zooming in to look at the right now, day-to-day, the same sort of variability persists at a smaller scale. Hour by hour in a typical day, I find myself working on a book-writing project, then emailing back and forth with a student who is having a crisis, then putting together some material for a lecture, then meeting with a postgraduate to discuss glaciers, or mud, or thesis-writing, and then setting up the agenda for a staff meeting. A few years ago, I blogged about a “typical” week at work as a “reflective diary” exercise. You can see that at: https://petergknight.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/lecturer-diary-exercise/

I typically get up at 5.30 a.m. and do an hour of work before breakfast. Ideally, this will be work on a major long-term project such as a book, but often I am distracted by having to fire-fight some short-term issue with a student, or a colleague, or a module. And then there’s Facebook… and Twitter… and the emails that came in overnight from colleagues in different time zones. A well-disciplined academic would set aside these precious early-morning sessions to focus on a key project and to avoid distractions. I am not so well disciplined.

One of the great things about my job is that on many days there are only a few fixed appointment times, so I can largely come and go as I please: working from home or in the office, sticking to “office hours” or working randomly late at night and into the weekend. It’s a gift… and a curse. The trick is to make it work for you. It suits me to do little bits and pieces of email or writing at random times overnight or on weekends and take long coffee-mornings in town during “working hours”, so that’s how I work. Other academics think it best to stick to a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. routine. Good luck to them. Me, I’m all over the place!

What’s fun?

One of the fun things about my job is having time to develop ideas and activities that I want to play with, whether that is in teaching or in research or in publishing. I have been lucky over the years that nobody really has ever tried to tell me what to do. I like writing books, so I have done a bit of that. I like mixing geography and art, so I made up an undergraduate module that lets me explore that. I like visiting glaciers and wilderness areas, so when it suited my lifestyle early in my career, I was able to do exactly that. Part of the fun of this career is having that freedom and flexibility.

glaciers

Dr. Peter G. Knight looking at debris in the basal ice layer, trying to ascertain the mechanisms of its entrainment in West Greenland. @2016 Peter G. Knight

 

Another of the fun things about my job is that they keep sending through a fresh supply of interested, curious, imaginative youngsters to keep me on my toes! Of course, not every student lives up to that dream specification, but a lot of them do: certainly a sufficient number to keep things interesting. If there was an interminable supply of identically dull students year after year, the job would be less fun, but the teaching side of the job is kept fresh and fun by the fresh and fun students who keep coming through the door. This is especially true for my Inspirational Landscapes module, where students get to develop a project based on their personal interests outside of geography.  The amazing range of ideas that students come up with is itself inspirational. The most fun thing for me is getting new ideas by listening to and talking with my students.

As a geographer, I have to confess that I do actually enjoy coloring, and I do think maps are fun. Camping out in glaciated wilderness is fun (up to a point). Writing lectures and talking to students about things both they and I find interesting is fun. Seeing your name in print on a freshly published book or paper is fun. If you are doing it right, most of the job can be fun.

What’s challenging?

Time management in an environment where there are no fixed hours and an unending supply of work can be challenging. For the unwary, this is the potential downside of this career. Your work is never finished. Nobody will tell you when to stop. You need to manage yourself effectively and make sure that you are doing the job in a way that works for you. This is not a well-paid job, relative to the training and qualifications that it demands, so there is not much point doing it if you are not enjoying it. The job has many different elements (teaching, research, administration, etc.), and there is a danger of being drawn into part of the job that is not what you enjoy. A serious weakness in the whole academic system is that it’s based on promoting talented individuals from roles where they excel into roles for which they have no training and may have no aptitude. If you do a brilliant research PhD, you can then get a job teaching as a lecturer. If your teaching turns out to be brilliant as well, they will promote you to a senior position and tell you that you are somebody’s line manager. Suddenly, the great teachers and researchers become bogged down as managers in career paths that they never wanted. If I had wanted to be a manager, I could have gotten a better-paying job managing something in industry or finance. That’s why I am happy to spend time teaching, writing, and thinking about glaciers, and to try and minimise the time I have to spend allocating workloads and reviewing specifications. Getting the balance right is the challenge.

glaciers

Dr. Peter G. Knight in West Greenland. ©2016 Peter G. Knight

Another big challenge, especially for younger colleagues, but even when you get to my great age, is maintaining a level of self-confidence in the face of the constant criticism that academic life seems to involve. Every time you apply for a grant, submit a paper, or even give a lecture, you get referees, reviewers, peer-observers and students filling in forms to report back on everything that you did wrong! I wrote a blog post here https://petergknight.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/advice-for-a-young-academic-imposter-syndrome/ about something called “imposter syndrome”, which is where we feel that perhaps we are not really up to the job we have been given and that we will in due course be exposed as a fraud. That’s a common feeling amongst a lot of academics, partly because of the constant scrutiny to which we are subjected and the high standard that many of us expect of ourselves. It’s another example of how self-management, and management of our own expectations, is an important challenge to address in this job.

What’s your advice to students?

The more you read, and the more you think about what you read, the better you will do. Ask for advice, and if the advice comes from somebody who knows what they are talking about, follow most of it. Remember that you can see only a tiny part of what is actually there. Be brave; it’s ok to learn by trial and error. Always provide detail and evidence. The first year does matter. Be careful and correct in your writing: good grammar is important. Always turn up on time and be properly prepared. Be polite. Do things that you enjoy. If you are not enjoying your geography, then you must be doing it wrong.

UPDATED! PhD Student, Glacial Lakes, Laura Eddey @poorlysorted: A Day in the GeoLife Series

glacial

Laura Eddey, Ph.D Candidate, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom

UPDATED  –  JANUARY 3, 2016

(Laura has updated this guest blog post to reflect the changes during her second year as a PhD candidate.  To see the progression of Laura’s career, start with her original post below dated August 27, 2014)

NAME:  Laura Eddey

CURRENT TITLE:  Ph.D candidate at the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom

THESIS TITLE:  Late Pleistocene proglacial lacustrine environments within the Vale of Pickering 

AREAS OF INTEREST:  Paleolakes, lake coring, sedimentology, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), Milutin Milanković, optically simulated luminescence (OSL) dating, glacial geomorphology, geochronology, geographic information system (GIS), and boreholes

EDUCATION:
MS Physical Geography – University of Wisconsin, Madison
BS Environmental Geography and Geology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

WEBSITE: http://prlysrtd.blogspot.co.uk/

What’s your job like?

I’m in the second year of my Ph.D and it’s all about the data. I spent the first year reading, writing, and trying to define the focus of my research. This was followed by four months of field work in the Vale of Pickering that included drilling six boreholes with the help of the drilling team from the British Geological Survey (BGS) who used a Dando drilling rig, shallow augering, OSL sampling, and ground-truthing LiDAR data. Now I’m processing cores and the OSL samples, as well as trying to input a ton of borehole data into a BGS open-source programme called GroundHog. Data from GroundHog will be the source of my 3D map complied in another BGS modeling program me called GSi3D. The results will be presented at this year’s Geological Society meeting held in June.

What’s a typical day like?

At the moment, it’s all data entry and lab work. Although fieldwork is definitely my favorite part of physical geography, the laboratory work is exciting, as it deepens the understanding of observations from fieldwork. The initial hypotheses I make whilst walking the landscape are either confirmed or force me to re-evaluate what I’m looking at. It can be very frustrating but very rewarding. The Vale of Pickering is a large area and feels overwhelmingly so at times, but I know my results so far and the observations I’m making are going to eventually lead to a piece of work that will help redefine the Late Glacial history of the area. ©

glacial

PhD candidate, Laura Eddey with Carl Horabin from the BGS drilling team during summer 2015. ©2016 Laura Eddey

 

What’s fun?

You probably won’t believe me, but everything is fun. The overall sense of achievement I get from finding a long-lost borehole record or a long-forgotten source that adds to my research ideas keeps me going. I have a ton of enthusiasm for my work because it’s my first love and favourite thing to do. Even when I don’t feel like doing it, I force myself to because after a few minutes, I forget why I didn’t feel like working and I’m sucked back in.

What’s challenging?

Again, everything is also challenging. The most challenging aspect, for me, is to keep my focus to the questions I have outlined for my Ph.D. Often I find small side stories tempting me to go and investigate what they might have to offer, but I have to keep on track so that I finish. I try and keep the ideas I have to the side and will hopefully get to those another day. 

What’s your advice to students?

Try to do something every day even if you don’t feel like it: read something, write down an idea, even just think about your project. It needs to be there in the front of your mind so that the ideas don’t go cold. I talk about my thoughts to my boyfriend, to my family, and the cat. Even though they don’t know what I’m going on about half the time, I find it helps just to bounce ideas off someone. 

The other thing is to have confidence. Don’t take academic criticism personally. It’s not personal, even if it feels that way. For the most part, people are trying to help you, and if critiques come back saying everything is wrong, try and figure out why that might be the case. Look at everything from as many angles as you can, and rule out what isn’t possible.

Lastly, enjoy it.

If you have any questions for Laura, please fill out the comment section below.

ORIGINAL “A DAY IN THE GEOLIFE” SERIES POST (AUGUST 27, 2014)

 

NAME:  Laura Hayes

CURRENT TITLE:  Geology tutor and PhD Student

AREA OF EXPERTISE:  Glacial geology/geomorphology.  Geology tutor at Anglo Skills College in Nottingham and PhD student at the University of Sheffield.

EDUCATION:  Six years of education down (BS University of Minnesota; MS University of Wisconsin), three (PhD University of Sheffield) to go!

What’s your job like?

At the moment, it’s quiet. I’ve just returned from living in the Midwest of the United States. I had been teaching large (~80 students) introductory earth sciences, but now I am teaching one ESL student from Libya as part of a test course on introductory geology that the college is developing for ESL students from the Middle East who are going back to work in the oil industry. Things are about to get hectic as I start my PhD in October, and I am about to embark as a field work assistant (another side job of mine – I love fieldwork!) in Corsica with the University of Edinburgh. I also organise a monthly meeting in Sheffield called Nerd Nite where intellectuals, academics, the general public, and a few drunks get together to listen to talks on just about anything. It’s like the discovery channel, but with beer.

What’s a typical day like?  

I don’t think I have a typical day, which is why I love whatever I am doing. One day, I might be teaching – which is a great job for me, as I get to talk about all the processes and not be told to shut up (although I do still see a few eyes glaze over haha), and there is nothing like showing people the cool earth processes and have them understand why it’s so cool. I might be on a fieldwork expedition looking at rocks or landforms, exploring new places, and getting new research ideas. I might be at a conference, which are important because sometimes you need a, what I call, REB: research enthusiasm boost – you may love your projects, but they can get to feel a bit familiar, so you need a reminder of why you do all this work and talking to others in your field can lead to new and fresh ideas.

What’s fun?

For me, anything involving geoscience, but most of all, fieldwork. I love being outside, exploring, going to new places – down the road or abroad. I like learning the answers to things; staring at rocks for hours; and trolling Google Earth just to look at different places. Before I entered education and decided to pursue what I love, I just wasn’t happy and felt something was missing from my life.

What’s challenging?

My organisational skills! I’m getting better at sorting myself out, though. So, partly, that’s where the name ‘poorlysorted’ came from: my love of glacial till, but I am also quite disorganised.

What’s your advice to students?

Do what you love. Honestly, everyone says it, but it’s hard to force yourself into a discipline that your heart’s not in, especially long-term. Often, we get other people influencing our choices – parents, spouses, partners, children, etc – but it’s often at the risk of dulling a part of you. Even if, sometimes, you feel like you can’t do it, you can! I’m proof of that. I doubted myself for years until I actually got up and tried. Yes, it’s hard, it takes practice, you will fail – a lot – and you will spend a lot of time feeling alone with your work unrecognised, but sometimes I look at the landforms or the rocks that I love, and I think, I don’t care about the (lack of) money, the recognition, that my master’s degree made me cry, or that people keep asking when I’ll get a real job because I love what I do more than anything. I’m where I supposed to be and life’s too short to be anywhere else.

Glaciology, Pierre Lardeux @PierreEtLaGlace: A Day in the GeoLife Series

glaciology

PhD candidate, glaciology, Pierre Lardeux

NAME:  Pierre Lardeux

CURRENT TITLE: PhD Student

AREA OF EXPERTISE:  Glaciology

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE: 3

EDUCATION: PhD candidate, self-funded; Aberystwyth University Athena SWAN Postgraduate Representative, Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, Centre for Glaciology.

WEBSITE: http://icenrock.org

What’s your job like?

There are two sides to my job: the office side and the fieldwork side. Obviously, the most exciting is the fieldwork part, but the office part is not bad at all. This is because when I’m in the office, I can prepare for fieldwork (you know the cool bit), use fancy software to build a digital version of the glacier that I’m studying (Glacier Noir, French Alps) in 3D, or make posters to present my results in big conferences like the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in two weeks or the European Geosciences Union (EGU) in April 2016.

My last fieldwork event was in 2014, with one full month on Glacier Noir and Glacier Blanc in the French Alps with two undergraduate students and one MSc student. This trip was great especially because the weather was nice and I was able to play with one of my favorite toys: the Global Positioning System (GPS)! I also played with new toys like water gauging stations, temperature probes and ablation stakes. So, fieldwork is definitely the best part of the job.

On the downside of the office job, there are endless email trails, super slow computers that take forever to interpolate 10,000 sampling points in my 3D models, and reading mountains of articles to be sure to not say stupid things. But all-in-all, I really like my job!

What’s a typical day like?

Can a PhD student have a typical day? Not sure…. and that’s the main interest of doing a PhD: you can’t really get bored. Yeah, sure, sometimes I do the same thing every day for a couple of weeks/months, but it’s to get the data and results. After, I can move on and do the fun part: analyzing the data and arrive with a big conclusion (sometimes :D). I like the fact that as a PhD student I can come to work and decide what I’m going to do when my computer starts… and usually the first thing I do is check my email (just in case somebody very rich wants to fund my research :P). Other than that, it really depends on what I’m up to at the moment: a giant table in Excel, micro-cartography in QGIS, or writing a mind-blowing article for a big journal or an awesome post for Rock-Head Sciences.

What’s fun?

Deciding which direction I want my project to go and realising that I have amazing results thanks to that!

What’s challenging?

Deciding which direction I want my project to go and realising that I have awful results because of that! Yep, usually when it’s fun it’s challenging too!

What’s your advice to students?

If you want to do a PhD, brace yourself, find something well-funded because doing research without proper resources is really tiring and sometimes a bit depressing. One last thing: lead your project and be sure of what you want to achieve.