Old Members’ Trust Graduate Conference and Academic Travel Fund report – Megan Taylor (2024, Environmental Research (NERC DTP))

In early January, I travelled to Ireland to attend a joint conference held by the Volcano Magmatic Studies Group (VMSG) and the Mineral-Deposit Studies Group (MDSG) at Trinity College Dublin. This joint conference, usually held separately by each group at this time of the year, provided a key opportunity to present on research I conducted in 2024 as part of my Master’s project which underpins my PhD.

The conference contained oral presentations during the day, split into VMSG and MDSG specific sessions, as well as joint sessions, with the conference having a key focus on identifying the links between the two communities. Poster sessions were held in the afternoon, which provided a chance to chat with others about their research and get to know some of the other PhD students. There were also networking events organised in the evening, which provided the opportunity to meet leading authorities in the field and socialise with my peers.

I presented my poster on ‘Crustal Sulphides under St Vincent in the Lesser Antilles Arc’ on the second day of the conference and had some interesting discussions with other scientists working in similar areas. I had some valuable discussions about the use of different thermobarometers to determine the pressure and temperature at which my samples were sourced from in the crust, and the advantages of different techniques. This has given me some new ideas to consider in my PhD moving forward.

I really enjoyed this experience of presenting my work at a national conference which provided a key opportunity to practice presentation skills, gain feedback on this preliminary, and network with other students and academics in my field. Thank you to University College for providing the grant to attend this conference.

Published: 31 January 2025

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