Through the eyes of a geologist

It's surprising how times change and how time flies. I'm sat in the sofa in the spare room with a warm glass of red wine, spending my bank holiday Sunday evening blogging... It's been two years since I've posted anything on here. I'd say the usual excuse I don't have the time. But if you enjoy something, you should make time. I recently tweeted an image linking the importance of mining to smart phone technology and I've been completely blown away by the reception. In just two days, it's reached over 32,000 timelines and over 1000 people have engaged with the tweet! Bar a few negative tweets, I've been messaged and tweeted by members of the public engaging with mining statistics and fascinated by production and recycling of raw materials. Often, people don't make the link between how the cars we drive, the phones we use, the laptop I'm blogging on - all these components came from the ground. It's important to carry on researching how ...

Since university has finished, I've had a much needed rest. I no longer blog for the department and so I thought it would be a good time to bring this blog back to life! I'm not the most creative of people, but I'm trying! It's 2:30pm, I'm in my dressing gown, and it may have taken me a few hours longer than what I wanted to, but I've finally found a background to my blog I'm in love with. I came across the image on flickr and decided to tile it. It's more than meets the eye and that's what I love. It's from the talented Linden Tea . It's a thin section kaleidoscope! When you first click on the blog, like me, you don't quite understand the background and what relevance it has. But dig a little deeper, and you appreciate it much more - it is the very basis of geology, a slice of a rock! I had a gander through Google, and was surprised to find how easy it was to make such an image. There's many app's to try! I might post a few o...

I hope everyone is enjoying the sun, and those of you who attended the Summer Social Weekender have fully recovered. This weekend, was our last ever Shabang as Leicester undergraduates. It’s sad to be leaving but it’s exciting to be moving towards the next chapter of our lives. Since finishing our Masters project presentation, we have continually reminisced over our time together. Remembering back to the time in Freshers when I first met people on my course who I now call my best friends. It’s been a phenomenal experience and the best decision of my life so far. 4th year MGeol students The graduation attire has been ordered and my next job is to find the perfect shoes! It’s strange waking up in the morning and realising you have no work to do and your biggest challenge of the day is browsing websites for shoes. I’ve been advised by many to take a well deserved rest over summer before the hard work that accompanies a PhD begins! I’m enjoying catching up on Netflix (who ...

The idea of undertaking a PhD application never sounded too scary. I had been toying with the idea for six months or so… A PhD or straight into industry? For me the deciding moment happened when I presented my ongoing MGeol Masters Research Project at MDSG (Mineral Deposits Study Group) back in January this year. Since the majority of NERC DTP application deadlines were January, it was quite a late confirmation. Attending the conference made me realise just how much I’m enjoying my project and the prospect of continuing in research is really exciting! Providing I found the right project, I’d love every minute of it. For me, the best website was FindaPhD.com – it had all the information you needed in one place. There were hundreds of projects to choose from which really allowed you to consider the vast range of topics. I was very keen to find a project that was fully funded, either privately or through NERC DTPs. What’s a NERC DTP I hear you ask? NERC (Natural Environment R...

Fourth-years are beginning to reach the final hurdle of their undergraduate degree. Some are nearing completion of their Masters Research Projects, whilst the majority (me included) run around like headless chickens trying to complete a to-do list that seems to have no finish. I’m going to share with you a normal day of data collection. This insight is aimed at early geology undergraduates as well as outsiders. Hopefully, everything explained in this post is as if you’ve never had the pleasure of SEM analysis! But let me know if you have questions. Lab facilities tend to be fully booked as other students begin to realise the deadline is looming and panic begins to set in. So when your designated lab day finally comes around, it really is precious. You need to set yourself deadlines otherwise you might run out of time and have to wait another three weeks until you can re-visit a sample. One facility many of us having been using for our Masters Research Project is the SEM. T...

Since joining LinkedIn a few years ago, I have been inundated with regular emails tempting me to join LinkedIn Premium. I read the first email where it looked tempting and then I looked at the price, and ever since, sent it straight to my deleted folder. However, since graduation is looming, it has made me think: will I ever find my perfect job? As a geology student, one thing that I have always found difficult is finding companies that I could potentially pester about an internship or a job. There are many jobs available, but they are so difficult to find since many jobs are filled internally, I can’t imagine many students ever come across them on the internet. I’ve had many rejections in the past, offering my spare hands freely, to shadow and gain what it really is like to be a geologist in industry. I remember phoning a company in my home town, to be told I couldn’t work shadow someone since I had no family members working for the firm. Sometimes it really is who you know a...

Hello 2016! I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year. Mine was the usual, but still great to spend so much time with family, eating, catching up with Netflix favourites and watching awful tele, but that’s what Christmas is about right? Now that the New Year has arrived, and so have exams, for the first time ever (!) I’ve had a Christmas break which actually consisted of a break! Lucky me, I have no exams this January (sorry, but not sorry). Having a week or so off from studying, was surprisingly really hard to switch off. I’m always on the go, with a constant growing to-do list. My 2016 has started off pretty good. I attended the  MDSG  (Mineral Deposits Study Group) Winter Conference held at the  University College Dublin , where five friends and myself were lucky enough to present our MGeol research projects to fellow students, academics and industry professionals. The Monday to Wednesday was jam-packed with talks and coffee, occasionally some cheese and...

Every year, the geology department dress up for our annual Christmas party organised by the PCSB student society. This year’s theme was Noah’s Ark and was certainly colourful. The work load for fourth year has been beyond anything I thought it could be. So at last, we had a reason to let our hair down and have some fun. After a week or so of prep, ordering our outfits from eBay and Amazon (student style of course), the time arrived and we finally put on all our accessories on, so that we actually looked remotely like flamingos. It was pink overload.   I think we scored 10 for effort. Strangers even asked for a selfie with us! Many cocktails later, we danced the night away and I found myself snuggled up in bed by 2:30am. That’s how you know I am a fourth year; cocktails and early nights are the way forward! Good luck with the deadlines everyone! Reblogged. Original post http://studentblogs.le.ac.uk/geology/2015/12/07/geologists-on-noahs-ark/

Do you enjoy studying sciences but still unsure what subject to continue in higher education? Have you thought of studying geology? For me, geology is an amalgamation of all sciences. Throughout my degree so far, I’ve had the opportunity to be a geophysicist, a geochemist, a geostatistican, a sedimentologist and a palaeobiologist. I had always enjoyed studying science at school and didn’t want to compromise one subject for another when applying to university. Studying geology was my answer. Studying geology makes you a well-rounded individual, as you get chances of studying a broad subject that encompasses the Earth, ranging from the composition, to the structure and processes acting upon it. If you want to pursue a masters, the thesis which you write in your fourth year allows you to start to specialise in areas that you are interested in. However, this doesn’t limit you in your future career. Why study geology at Leicester? Here are some of the 2016 statistics from the Nation...

Last Thursday, after a long day of studying and report writing, I was invited by a friend to an MSF event happening at the library. I heard there was free pizza and as a student, I automatically said yes. Prior to the invitation, I had never heard of MSF let alone the Missing Maps project. For those of you who don’t know, the Friends of MSF are a student run society and require students help as volunteer mappers to map remote parts of the world that are most vulnerable to crisis, whether that’s natural disasters, disease-related or due to conflict. Maps are incredibly important. As a geologist I know the extent of how vital fieldwork is, as it is essential evidence to back up interpretations. Therefore to learn how to digitally map is a new skill altogether. We were assigned to identify settlements in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. This will allow NGOs such as the Red Cross to establish population estimates so that then everyone knows exactly what supplies are nee...

With term now fully underway, finding time to be sociable is hard. It’s different to switch off; you’re overcome with a feeling of guilt that my time would be better spent studying. Welcome to fourth year. However, one thing geologists definitely do full-heartedly… barcrawls! When we have time for fun, we certainly know how to have fun. Last week was the Geology PCSB Red T-Shirt barcrawl. We welcome the first-years to Leicester and we show them what it’s really like to be a student studying Geology, AMAZING. I think roughly 150-200 people attended, of whom were both undergrads and postgrads, roaming the streets of the city. This was really strange for me. The majority of people who I knew were only in my year group. Prior to studying abroad at The University of Arizona, I knew people in the years above me since I was a 2 nd  year back then. I’m now back in Leicester as a 4 th  year and I’m seeing all these fresh faces in the department. It was being like a new kid at scho...

I originally began blogging when I undertook the Leicester Award for Social Networking and now I can’t seem to stop. I blogged about this topic a few months ago… Something which has certainly sparked my interest since it was announced in October 2014, was the launch of  100 Great Geosites  spanning the UK and Ireland by the  Geological Society . As a keen field geologist, I am excited to hear that there is finally an interactive map to find sites of geological importance on your doorstep. Categories vary from economic perspectives such as mines, to spectacular structures and extinct super-volcanoes all within a drivable distance. The launch of the Geosites will be incredibly educational to all ages and backgrounds. It is important to learn about your geological surroundings and to understand events of the past to truly appreciate the unknowns of the future such as earthquakes and volcanoes which can be applied to a global scale. These sites also encompass other aspe...

As term-time is approaching, more and more MGeol students are appearing around the department eager to get ahead of the game. An MGeol project is a compulsory research module where students are fully responsible to complete independently and is worked on alongside the usual studies and commitments that comes with an academic year. When entering my third year of studies and the shortlist of projects were published, there wasn’t a project that took my fancy. Speaking to previous fourth-year students, they advised to pick a project that I knew I would enjoy. If I loved what I was doing, I’d be happier putting all my time and effort into the project and it being successful. The only thing I was certain about, was that I wanted to undertake fieldwork as part of my project as that aspect of geology is my favourite. That’s when I started emailing lecturers, speaking to professionals in industry and asking for their advice. Little did I know, I would be collecting my data whilst I was stu...

Now it may sound cliché, but you are about to embark on the best 3 or 4 years of your life so far. First years… I am majorly jealous of you. I’d love to be starting university again. The friends you’re going to make during Freshers and your induction fortnight within Geology, really do set you up for the rest of your degree, so get out there and make the most of it. Freshers fortnight only happens once a year so go wild. I’d urge you to attend all the information sessions that have been put on for you, anyway, the weekend is for sleeping! Most people spend the fortnight sleep deprived, you most likely will end up with Freshers flu, but it’s worth it for the fun you’re going to have. When I first turned up into halls, there was a girl in my flat arguing with her mum loudly. I honestly thought to myself, I hope I’m not living with her! She’s now my best friend!! (I love you Grace!) Don’t judge a book by its cover and remember you’re all in the same boat, embrace the good and bad tim...

Until the age of sixteen, I wanted to be a heart surgeon. I think it was religiously watching Holby City on a Tuesday evening that did it for me. However much I loved biology at sixth form, I wasn’t very good at it to be honest. I was lost and studying A-levels that I enjoyed rather than what I could see myself perusing in a career. It actually wasn’t until sixth form when I switched from the IB (International Baccalaureate) to standard A-levels, that I found out I could study Geology, let alone at a degree level. I sat in the office of my advisors office not knowing what subjects to take. One subject I did excel in was Geography, where my particular love for maps grew. I enjoyed understanding relationships between boarders and the social aspects, as well as getting nitty gritty with the physical aspects of volcanoes and other hazards. By understanding Geology, it lets me answer the ‘how’ questions. How did that volcano produce so much lava? Why? When will it happen again? I’ve alwa...

How’s everyone’s summer coming along? Mine has been pretty standard since arriving home from Arizona, as nothing can quite compete with that. However, one thing that many students do, including myself, is learn to drive over the summer and pass before term starts again in the Autumn. When I was 17, I did begin to learn however after 3 hours I knew I wasn’t quite ready as quite frankly, I was a wuss. At the fine age of 21 ½, I finally felt as though I had the ability to control a car without running somebody over. Consequently, the past 3 weeks have been filled with 20 hours of driving lessons alongside working nearly full-time at my (part-time) job. My instructor Alex had a personality and a half, and worked around my working hours which meant that many lessons either started at 7am or 10pm. As you can imagine I’ve had a hectic few weeks. Due to studying abroad, my theory certificate expired which meant I couldn’t book a driving test. I knew I had the ability to pass and thus ...

When university starts, you both embrace the independency (like me) and miss your pets like crazy, or you’re badly homesick and want to go home at every opportunity. It’s normal to be either. I was so immersed into university, I somehow forgot to be homesick. However, everybody is different. Something I found recently was that National Express coaches do journeys from £6! I travel between Colchester-Leicester-Nottingham on a regular basis and have found that by far, this is the cheapest way to travel. So if homesickness is something you’re worrying about if you’re starting university this September, home is just one journey away. Other tips I have found along my university journey: The laundrette can be costly in halls. It’s fine to wear jeans for a few days right? Hang them back up in your wardrobe! Can’t afford a gym membership? Invest in a rucksack and walk everywhere. Put all your baked bean tins on your back from your weekly shop, and you’ll be working up a sweat in no tim...

Budgeting! Before university, it’s the one word we hear a thousand times from our parents! Commuting, textbooks, food, the list is endless. Among many other things, these need to be considered into our budgets. Some students are really lucky they can rely on the bank of mum and dad for either a weekly allowance or a relief loan for when times are tough. This blog post will be the first of two that hopes to show you how you don’t need to budget, you just need to be sensible! It will contain my top tips and latest knowledge of the best deals out there to benefit students and make the most of university on a small amount of money. Everything I’m about to say, I either currently do or have done at some point in the past 3-4 years. My major concern before starting university was if I was to run out of money. I am very independent and will not ask my parents for money even if it is the last resort. Instead, make sure you’ve done research into the accounts the banks have to offer to ensu...