Victorian Universities Earth and Environmental Sciences Conference

Thanks everyone who attended VUEESC 2022 and helped make it a great success!
Another final thanks to our sponsors, the GSA, SEG and ASEG, our keynotes Vanessa Wong, Emily Finch, and Benjamin Henley, to the session conveners and Ailie Gallant for the welcoming address.

We would like to congratulate the following people for their prize-winning talks (and poster!)

Session 1: Environmental Science - Sarah Tinsley 🌿
Session 2: Economic Geology - (1st) Fernanda Alvarado Neves
Session 2: Economic Geology - (runner up) Eric Owusu
Session 3: Geophysics - (1st) Mohammed Alsaleh
Session 3: Geophysics - (runner up) Chibuzo Chukwu
Session 4: Geochemistry - Angus Rogers

Session 5: Climate 1 - Tom Lemaitre
Session 6: Climate 2 - Lawrence Bird
Session 7: Paleontology and sedimentary processes - Maria Paulsen
Session 8: Posters - Tahereh Alinejadtabrizi

The organising committee thank you for your great submissions, energy, and excitement!! Here's to the next one 🍻 🥳

VUEESC 2022 is tomorrow! 😲🥳

Excited to see you from 9am at 9 Rainforest Walk, Monash University Clayton Campus! Our Welcome will be at 9.30am, but if you're trapped at home, or otherwise unable to attend in person, email [email protected] to request the Zoom link 🤙

Our final keynote was once accused of being a "fake scientist working for the global climate conspiracy", so you know he must be the real deal!

Dr Ben Henley is a Lecturer and Research Fellow at the University of Wollongong, Executive Editor at WIREs Climate Change, consultant in hydrology and climate, and Associate Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes.
A scientist-engineer hybrid, Ben’s research focuses on understanding climate variability and climate change and their impacts in the Southern Hemisphere, using multi-proxy palaeoclimate records, instrumental observations and climate model simulations. He is a member of the international coordinating committee for the fourth phase of the PAGES 2k initiative.
He is a contributing author of the IPCC’s sixth assessment report (AR6), recipient of the G.N. Alexander award in 2016 and the Young Tall Poppy Award in 2020. He was the instigator of the Victorian Drought Risk Inference Project (VicDRIP), originator of the Tripole Index (TPI) for the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation, and a Chief Investigator of the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) $36 million Special Research Initiative, ‘Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future’ (SAEF).
He holds research affiliations with the water group in Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Melbourne and with SAEF at Monash University. Ben engages with schools, businesses, local councils, state government organisations and community groups to build understanding of climate change and the better integration of science and policy. Ben is passionate about the future of science and supporting under-represented groups and early career researchers in their science endeavours.

G'day again VUEESC attendees! 🌪🌴🌋

Did you know we have more than one amazing established scientist keynoting at VUEESC2022? That's right, we have science superstar Dr. Emily Finch presenting as well! 🤩🥳

Dr Emily Finch is a Beamline Scientist building and soon operating the new Medium Energy X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (MEX) Beamline at the Australian Synchrotron. Once this beamline is built, Emily will work with researchers from all around the world to solve scientific puzzles.

Dr Finch’s research background is in geoscience. She completed her PhD at Monash University and postdoctoral research as part of the MinEx CRC. Emily has hunted for rocks in places like Scotland, Norway, New Zealand, and throughout Australia to learn more about how metals move around Earth’s crust. These metals are crucial for green technologies like solar panels and wind turbines. By understanding how metals move around the crust, researchers like Emily can better predict where to explore for them.

Emily loves using evidence to solve puzzles, which she’s done in both geoscience and as a policy analyst at the Australian Council of Learned Academies and the Academy of Technology and Engineering. As a 2021-2022 Superstar of STEM, Emily is an enthusiastic advocate for intersectional diversity and inclusion in STEM workplaces, and is passionate about highlighting the amazing work of her fellow women in STEM.

G'day, and happy Easter VUEESC attendees! 🥳🍫

All presenters should have received an email with presentation/poster templates, and some conference details - if you have not, please email [email protected].

The finalised schedule will be released along with general information for attendees very soon - in the meantime, please welcome our first keynote, the eminently talented Associate Professor Vanessa Wong!

Vanessa Wong is a soil scientist and associate professor in the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University. She completed her PhD at the Australian National University and then worked as a research scientist at Geoscience Australia and Southern Cross University before joining Monash University. The core focus of her research is in soil chemistry, studying the interactions between soils, sediments and water. She works in both agricultural environments, assessing the effects of land degradation, and potential remediation options, and natural environments, seeking to understand biogeochemical cycling in wetland soils.
She collaborates on a range of interdisciplinary projects across disciplines including in Indigenous archaeology, chemical engineering, mining engineering and the social sciences.

Vanessa is passionate about promoting equity, diversity and inclusion broadly across science, and making a tangible difference in her workplace and soil science community. She was the 2019 Chair of the Australian Academy of Science’s Early and Mid-Career Researcher Forum Executive Committee and is a current Faculty member in the Science stream for Homeward Bound. She is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Land Degradation and Development and an Associate Editor of Wetlands. She is also the current President of Soil Science Australia and Vice Chair of the Acid Sulphate Soils Working Group of the International Union of Soil Sciences, and a Certified Professional Soil Scientist (CPSS).

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS CLOSING IN COMING DAYS
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https://forms.gle/3bTNtpsDdSz11Yj77
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We're looking forward to hosting you at Monash University in 3 weeks for (what might be) the first conference of the decade!
🤯👩‍🔬📈
Be sure to get your abstracts in ASAP using the link above and use the template linked on the form.

Send any questions to [email protected] - looking forward to seeing you! 🥳

WE NEED YOUR DIETARY REQUIREMENTS!

The VUEESC 2022 EOI is open! Experts say it only takes *one minute* to fill out 👀 Reckon you can beat that time? Find out below
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https://forms.gle/FoTcr5cowVH1qePt5

* CONFERENCE UPDATE *

After consultation with officials from Monash University, the VUEESC organising committee has decided to postpone VUEESC2022, with the expected date to be the 21st-22nd of April, during the Monash mid-semester break.

This comes, as you will expect, due to high case numbers causing uncertainty in booking cancellations, and possible travel restrictions to the University.

Accordingly, the abstract deadline is extended again, until the end of March. If you have already submitted, you are welcome to resubmit an updated abstract. Please share this information with your networks that would be interested in attending 🎉

What a shock this morning! 🥴🪨 And what a reason to continue studying this fascinating planet we call home 🌌
Announcement! VUEESC2021 is being pushed to February 2022 to maximise our in-person attendance - we just couldn't have a conference without seeing all your lovely faces!
Updated abstract submission deadline: Friday 28th January 2022
Updated dates: 24th-25th February 2022

🌴🌪🌋 The 33rd Victorian Universities Earth and Environmental Science Conference is announced! Calling all undergraduate and postgraduate students from across the Earth Sciences spectrum - the conference you didn't know you were waiting for is here!

On the 24th-25th of February, Monash University will host the 33rd VUEESC. Call for abstracts now open! 🌋🌪🌴

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Hey Postgrads, the schedule for the 2020 conference will be finalised this coming week. Lots of great abstracts submitted (we don’t reject any so if you submitted an abstract you are accepted) it should be an engaging conference.

The 32nd Victorian Universities Earth and Environmental Science Student Conference will be held at the University of Melbourne on the 27th of February, 2020.

It is our great pleasure to invite you and your postgraduate colleagues at your institutions to register for the conference and submit an abstract. Register and submit abstract here

Abstract Guidelines:
- 250 words maximum
- Double spaced lines, Times New Roman and size 12 font
- Please underline the presenting author's name
- Please write your abstract so that any Earth and Environmental Science Postgraduate student could understand it (e.g. a geologist could understand a meteorologist's abstract and vice versa)

Abstract submissions close at 11:59pm on Friday the 17th of January, 2020, and registration is free for postgraduate students (currently enrolled or recently graduated).

Abstracts to be submitted to: [email protected]

We are still buzzing from last weeks ! Here are a few shots that didn’t make it up from our poster session; we will be releasing a wrap up this week including some highlights and the awards results - congratulations and thank you to everyone who participated in or sponsored the event!