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Women in Earth Science Events
Upcoming Events
Past Events
2024
- Thursday 7th March 2024: WiES Coffee Morning
Another wonderful WiES coffee morning!
- Wednesday 28th February 2024: Celebrating Prof Kathleen Lonsdale FRS and Dr Judith Milledge
The UCL Women in Earth Science group (WiES) had a very special celebration of two eminent UCL alumnae - Professor Kathleen Lonsdale FRS and Dr Judith Milledge, who were both pioneers in the field of crystallography.
Kathleen Lonsdale was the first female professor at UCL and one of the first women elected a Fellow of The Royal Society. Prof Mike Glazer from the University of Oxford, Department of Physics spoke about the life and legacy of Prof Lonsdale and his time as one of her last PhD students at UCL in the late 1960s. This was followed by some words from our very own Prof Ian Wood on Dr Judith Milledge who worked closely with Kathleen Lonsdale at UCL and was Ian’s PhD supervisor in the 1970s.
- Thursday 8th February 2024: WiES Coffee Morning
Another wonderful WiES coffee morning!
- Thursday 18th January 2024: 'Queer Earth Scientists Across History' with Ines Rivero Delgado
WiES were joined by Ines Rivero Delgado who gave a fantastic talk on Queer Earth Scientists Across History. An important subject that sparked much discussion, followed by drinks and food.
If you would like to find out more about Ines you can check out their fantastic Scientist Spotlight!
- Thursday 11th January 2024: WiES Coffee Morning
Another wonderful WiES coffee morning!
2023
- Friday 27th October 2023: Screening of "Lake of Fire" National Geographic Explorer documentary plus Q&A with Dr Emma Nicholson.
Screening of "Lake of Fire" National Geographic Explorer documentary plus a Q&A with Dr Emma Nicholson was held on Friday 27th October at 6pm in the KLB.
This screening and discussion session follows on from Emma’s WiES talk in February, 'Lake of Fire' is now available on Disney+!
“If asked to put a dot on a map at a place furthest from civilisation you'd be hard-pressed to find somewhere more remote than the South Sandwich Islands. This isolated volcanic island chain in the notoriously unpredictable Southern Ocean holds incredible potential to advance many outstanding questions within volcanology and yet is incredibly enigmatic, few individuals have ever landed ashore and even satellite observations are rare. As part of a National Geographic-funded research project, we launched an ambitious expedition to study volcanic and environmental processes at Mt Michael, Saunders Island, that would test us beyond all expectation. We aimed to make a first-ever ascent of this glaciated active volcano in an attempt to ground-truth satellite observations that suggest a lava lake has existed within the crater over several decades, collect samples of volcanic gas and lava to reveal more about how magma is being stored beneath the surface, and explore the environmental impacts of continuous volcanic emissions on local air and water quality in this otherwise pristine natural setting. This film follows our journey, looking behind the scenes at the story behind the science.
- 10th October 2023: WiES Kick-Off Event
The WiES Kick-Off event was held on Tuesday 10th October and all were welcome to join WiES and hear from the current members of the group.
Our Chairperson, Dr Frances Cooper spoke about the importance of WiES and her own experiences as a women in Earth sciences and we were joined by Dr Allie Rutledge from Northern Arizona University whoe talked about working in remote field locations.
We are looking forward to building a exciting programme of events for this year!
- 27th September 2023: WiES Coffee Morning
Our first WiES Coffee morning of the academic year! Members were invited to come along and start the day with a coffee or two with WiES friends!
- 27th June 2023: 'Seizing the day (and all the lab space you can find): lessons from a founding chair’ with Beth Christensen'
'Seizing the day (and all the lab space you can find): lessons from a founding chair’ with Beth Christensen was held on Tuesday 27th of June KLB 126.
What does it take to start a new department? What’s it like to leave a tenured full professorship for the unknown? Professor Beth Christensen discussed her most recent adventure: building a brand-new environmental science department from scratch at Rowan University in southern New Jersey. She also discussed efforts to build the department with inclusivity in mind from the start, and offered examples of how keeping an eye open to opportunity can lead to a rewarding, if slightly off-the-beaten-path, career.
Beth Christensen is Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Environmental Science at Rowan University. Beth’s research focusses on sedimentary records from continental margins, applying them both to past and present oceanographic and climatic studies, as well as offshore wind farm research. Recent projects include investigating the impact of Hurricane Sandy on coastal systems and reconstructing climate change in Australia over the last 5 million years. Beth is active in the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), and currently part of a US-based task force considering how to implement ‘virtual expeditions’. Beth will be a UCL Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MAPS) Faculty Visiting Professorial Fellow in the Department of Earth Sciences over the summer.
What does it take to start a new department? What’s it like to leave a tenured full professorship for the unknown? Professor Beth Christensen discussed her most recent adventure: building a brand-new environmental science department from scratch at Rowan University in southern New Jersey. She also discussed efforts to build the department with inclusivity in mind from the start, and offered examples of how keeping an eye open to opportunity can lead to a rewarding, if slightly off-the-beaten-path, career.
Image credit: Prof. Beth Christensen
- 1st March 2023: 'What does it take to explore one of the most remote volcanoes on Earth?' with Dr Emma Nicholson
What does it take to explore one of the most remote volcanoes on Earth?
If asked to put a dot on a map at a place furthest from civilisation you'd be hard-pressed to find somewhere more remote than the South Sandwich Islands. This isolated volcanic island chain at the boundary between the South Atlantic and Southern Ocean holds the key to many outstanding questions within volcanology and yet are incredibly enigmatic, few individuals have ever landed ashore and even satellite observations are rare. As part of a National Geographic-funded research project, we launched an ambitious expedition to study volcanic and environmental processes at Mt Michael, Saunders Island, that would test us beyond all expectation.
Expeditions make you feel everything more intensely and more brightly. Your team becomes your world and you wear your emotions boldly and openly. Your world becomes both bigger and smaller at the same time as you push the boundaries of your own perceived limits while drawing on the strengths of others. Our time in the South Atlantic challenged me in every way I could think possible, physically and emotionally. Yet, in academic contexts, rarely do these more introspective narratives get told.
This talk will take a look behind the scenes at what it takes to put together an expedition of this scale, the trials and tribulations of life in the field, and the challenges of balancing science and survival in one of the harshest environments on Earth.
This fantastic event was held on the 1st March 2023!
2022
- 7th December 2022: WiES Coffee Morning
Another wonderful WiES coffee morning!
- 1st November 2022: The First WiES Coffee Morning
WiES Coffee mornings have started! Members started the day with a coffee or two with WiES friends. The first coffee morning was held on the 1st November in the First Floor Hub Space inside the Kathleen Lonsdale Building.
- 11th October 2022: WiES Welcome Event 2022
The first WiES event of 2022 was held in the Rock Room on Tuesday 11th October and welcomed members old and and new to the group!
- 7th June 2022: WiES Careers Events
Are you interested in learning about different careers that can stem from Earth Sciences degrees?
The second WiES Careers event was held on the 7th June 2022 at 4pm joined by Katie McFall, Gayle Hough and Emma Bowden.
Katie McFall is a Lecturer in Earth Sciences at UCL. She works closely with mining companies to help find sustainable supplies of metals for green technology.
Gayle Hough worked as a geohazard consultant for many years, working first for Halcrow, an engineering company, and then RPS Group, Gayle has since moved to BP where she is now a Senior Geohazard Specialist.
Dr. Emma Bowden lives in Abu Dhabi and works as the Geomodelling Specialist for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Technical Centre.
- 8th March 2022: One Year of WiES
The one-year anniversary of WiES celebration was held on Zoom on the 8th of March! It is also International Women's Day and to celebrate we hosted a Gathertown event. There were rooms highlighting members of our community and more!
- 11th February Movie Screening: Hidden Figures
Movie screening for the members of WiES followed by a movie quiz held online and in-person.
2021
- 23rd November 2021 WiES Members Yoga
Yoga Session for WiES members was held on the 23rd November 2021
- 9th November 2021 Gather.Town Virtual Get Together
All were welcome to join WiES in the Gather.Town virtual get together. The members had the opportunity to explore the virtual space, play interactive games and even solve crosswords!
- 27th October 2021 Talk from Prof. Sara Seagar
Sara Seager is an astrophysicist and a professor of physics and planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is know for her pioneering research of exoplanets and their atmospheres. Her research has introduced many foundational ideas to the field of exoplanets, planets orbiting stars other than the Sun and she is now at the forefront of the search for the first Earth-like exoplanets and signs of life on them. For her research Sara was awarded a MacArthur "genius" grant, and has Asteroid 9729 named in her honor.
Photo Credit: Bob Richman
- 16th September 2021 The WiES Summer Picnic
A beautiful day for a picnic in Gordon Square organised by WiES for WiES members and friends with lots of chat and games and a wonderful chance to see everyone in real life.
- 8th June 2021 Women In Earth Science Careers Event
In the first Women In Earth Science careers event we had the opportunity to hear from Joanna Reynolds (BP), Frances Cooper (University of Bristol) and Eleni Bohacek (UCL) who each described their career paths, experiences and gave us an invaluable insight into the diverse careers in Earth Sciences.
- 28th April 2021 "A life in deep time: Reflections on belonging in the geosciences" talk from Dr Phoebe Cohen
Our first women in science talk will be given Dr Phoebe Cohen, Associate Professor of Geosciences at Williams College USA. She is actively involved in justice, equity, diversity and inclusion work in her discipline, at Williams and beyond, most recently as a founding organizer of URGE.
Phoebe Cohen is an Associate Professor in Geosciences at Williams College. Phoebe is a paleontologist who uses a wide variety of microscopic and microchemical techniques, combined with data from field-based stratigraphy and sedimentology, to reconstruct ancient organisms and ecosystems. In essence, she studies tiny fossils to help reconstruct ancient organisms and ecosystems (mostly from the Neoproterozoic Era, before the rise of animals).
You can find out more about Phoebe on her website: https://sites.williams.edu/pac3/
- 8th March 2021 Launch of Women in Earth Science Group
The official launch of the Women in Earth Science Group was held on Zoom from 6pm on the 8th March 2021.
