- I completed my MGeol thesis, which was entitled "Monomict Eucrites: A Comparative Petrology from Scanning Electron Microscopy". You can read about it in more detail here, but basically I compared 6 meteorite samples that are classified as the same type of rock and found a load of differences between them.
- The presentation also went fine even though I didn't feel all that prepared for it. I got some very good feedback which was lovely.
- Final mark for the thesis report = First Class
- Final overall degree mark = First Class
Safe to say I'm very proud of myself.
The past four years of university have definitely had their ups and downs, but it's been a wonderful time. I've made some truly brilliant friends and that chance to be taught and study alongside experts is an experience that I'll treasure forever. I somehow ended up studying one of my original passions and I wouldn't change it for the world. I'll admit, student life is really damn hard. You have no money, no hobbies, and not enough time to study and maintain a decent social life, but for me it was worth it.
Swiftly moving on to something much more interesting (maybe)...
I'm currently in Berlin!
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| Berlin Victory Column, Tiergarten |
I'm here to attend the 79th annual meeting of the Meteoritical Society, which is made up of researchers across the world who study meteorites in all their forms. It's a five day conference, but I booked a few extra days at the hotel so I could be a tourist and have a break from life at home. I managed to get to Tiergarten yesterday before the thunder storm arrived, and had a rather good sandwich made of salami, cheese, and mayonnaise - not a combination I'd ever considered but would recommend.
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| Rosengarten, Tiergarten |
So, what will I be doing here?
Mostly, just attending talks (which start at 08:30 for some god awful reason) and trying to navigate my way around the city without knowing a single word of German. I did Spanish at school. It has never once come in handy. Other than that, I will be presenting some of my findings from my thesis in poster form along with a load of other researchers.
It's quite intimidating, really. I'm painfully aware that these people know so much compared to me and have been working in the field for years (if not decades). I've recognised a load of names from various papers that I've read, but my adviser has promised to introduce me to as many people as possible. I'm hoping to network and hand out a few CVs, but mostly to gain contacts in case anyone has a PhD in the works. Apparently most people in meteoritics are hired based on personal recommendation, so it helps if you know a lot of people.
We'll see how it goes. I've gotten the hang of the trains here, but I still get lost in the streets.
Once I'm back in England, I get to start work at the university as a "research associate" and get paid on a research bursary. The plan is to learn a new technique to go along with scanning electron microscopy, and to look at a wider range of meteorite types. I'm hoping to get a paper published, which would massively help with getting a PhD position (or applying for more senior positions in industry).
I'm looking forwards to it. The past year at university has really taught me that I belong in academia and that research is my forte. I hope to be able to continue my studies, but I'm making several back up plans in case it doesn't work out.
So, that's that.
I'm hoping to write a daily (or every other day) post about the MetSoc meeting that I'm in Berlin for. It'll be an interesting experience - I've never been to a conference before, and I'll be there as an undergraduate student too. I'm sure it'll be fine. I just need to be brave!
