Macquarie University, Dept. of Earth & Environmental Sciences

This podcast is of famous Macquarie University earth science alumna Dr Abigail Allwood, who completed her PhD in geology in 2006 at the Australian Centre for Astrobiology. Here Abigail speaks of her transition to postdoc and research group leader at NASA, where she led the team that designed the PIXL instrument on Mars rover Perseverance.

Leading Lights Alumni: Dr Abigail Allwood Dr Abigail Allwood is a pioneering geologist and research scientist working with NASA. She is also the first woman and the first Australian to lead an invest...

Today we kicked off our 2021 HDR Seminar Series with three amazing seminars by Carlos, Anqi and Sam. These seminars are an excellent opportunity for our students to showcase their research and answer questions about their presentation from the audience. A yoga session followed for keen enthusiasts and afternoon tea.

How has Sydney's climate changed since European settlement? Did settlement cause the changes? Explore recent climate data with this worksheet prepared through the Macquarie University PACE program -https://ausearthed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Climate-Since-European-Settlement-Student-Worksheet.pdf

The Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS) is currently running. The survey gathers feedback on the higher education experience, and measures employment and further study outcomes for graduates. Results of the survey will help both the higher education sector and the government improve such experiences and outcomes.

Please check your emails for a link to the survey. All responses are confidential and no personal information will be linked to graduates’ responses. More information about the survey can be found at https://www.qilt.edu.au/surveys/graduate-outcomes-survey

Welcome to 2021. We are looking forward to meeting our commencing students. We have a fantastic year of learning ahead.

Many of our units involve fieldwork, and ENVS3238 visited Sunny Corner silver-lead-zinc mine, just west of Lithgow, NSW late last year. The students are standing at the old mill area, and the chimney behind used to vent the gases from ore roasting. The students performed a site assessment and wrote a remediation plan.

This week it’s Dr Katie Dafforn who happily answered our “getting to know you” questions. So here’s her answers:
1. If you could go anywhere for a holiday where would you go and who would you take with you? Anywhere with a tropical beach and good diving that I can enjoy with my better half
2. What’s your favourite thing to drink? A nice pot of tea, with milk of course
3. A random fact that none of us here know about you? I listen to Christmas music all year round (but there are so many Christmas songs Katie, what’s your favourite?)
4. What’s your favourite movie and why? The Life Aquatic - still looking for the jaguar shark
5. What you enjoy about working at Macquarie? Students come first and that means I have been surrounded by inspiring and innovative educators at MQ

We took a group of students to Orange, in country NSW for five-day field excursion for GEOS3314. During the field trip, students used geophysical equipment to conduct mineral exploration and environmental surveys.

Happy
This is a thin section of mylonite from Caswell Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand, showing plagioclase, quartz, epidote, biotite, muscovite.
Daczko, N. R., Klepeis, K. A., & Clarke, G. L. (2002). Thermomechanical evolution of the crust during convergence and deep crustal pluton emplacement in the Western Province of Fiordland, New Zealand. Tectonics, 21(4), 4-1.

Dr Kerrie Tomkins happily camping in the rain and mud on Mt Anne in Tassie, in her old leaky tent. We sent her our five quick questions to gain a little insight into Kerrie:

If you could go anywhere for a holiday where would you go and who would you take with you?
If I could go anywhere for a holiday given the borders are shut, I would love to go bushwalking in Tasmania for a month or longer if possible. I really enjoy the peace and quiet of being outside in nature. I would take my partner Pete, and definitely leave the mobile phone and computer at home.

What’s your favourite thing to drink?
At the moment it’s coffee, but more out of need than want!

A random fact that none of us here know about you?
I had a lazy eye when I was child. To correct it, I had to wear a patch and looked like a pirate.

What’s your favourite movie or TV show and why?
I love all the BBC period dramas, such as Pride & Prejudice or North & South. I don’t really watch much TV, but for some reason the BBC shows are captivating.

What you enjoy about working at Macquarie?
The best thing about Macquarie is the amazing people! I have a group of really close friends whom I met when we were all science students here in the 1990’s. Since then, I’ve gained many great friends and colleagues.

In 2020 our seminar series, like so much else, has been online. This has allowed us to record and post them to our YouTube channel.

Assoc Professor Paul Hesse presented on 9th October: "Re-thinking the last ice age in the Southern Hemisphere"

Re-thinking the last ice age in the Southern Hemisphere Seminar by Associate Professor Paul Hesse Since the early 1970’s the dominant paradigm for the climate of the Last Glacial Maximum in Australasia (and other ...