Dear Geochemists,
A reminder that the deadlines for our bursaries are rapidly approaching:
Meeting Attendance Bursaries (PhDs and ECRs) (deadline 15th May)
The Geochemistry Group welcomes applications from researchers registered at UK and Irish universities or research institutions to facilitate the presentation of their geochemistry-related research at a meeting hosted online, within the UK or internationally. The bursary is open to students regardless of funding situation as well postdoctoral researchers without financial support for conference attendance. Full eligibility criteria are listed in the application form which can be downloaded from our website: https://geochemistrygroup.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=130&action=e…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgeochemis…> These are often under subscribed, so you stand a great chance of success!
NEW! Technical Staff Meeting Attendance Bursary (deadline 15th May)
The Geochemistry Group welcomes applications from technical staff (laboratory technicians/managers, project officers, etc.), based at UK and Irish universities or research institutions and working in geochemistry laboratories (either on a short-term or on a permanent basis), to facilitate their attendance at meetings within the UK or internationally.
Funding for the following types of expenses can be applied for through this bursary: (i) offsetting the cost of travel to, and accommodation at, conferences, workshops or training courses being attended in person (the Geochemistry Group encourages low-carbon travel modes but it is also possible to claim for carbon offsetting costs if flying is inevitable); (ii) contributions towards the cost of registration and abstract fees for both online and in-person professional meeting, or (iii) a combination of both. Full eligibility criteria are listed in the application form which can be downloaded from our website: https://geochemistrygroup.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=130&action=e…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgeochemis…>
Design our new logo!
I am sure you will agree that our logo now seems a little outdated, so we are asking the community to suggest a fresh logo design! This is a rare opportunity to step out of the lab and let your artistic side out!
Please email your design ideas (however rough at this stage!) to George Cooper (CooperG3(a)cardiff.ac.uk<mailto:CooperG3@cardiff.ac.uk>) by May 15th, We will then review the entries at our next committee meeting before a final vote. Please do send your ideas in, or we will have to hand over control to the questionable hands of AI!
Job at Thermo
Thermo are advertising for a Field Application Scientist (m/f/d), IOMS (EMEA). Follow the link for more info and to apply: https://jobs.thermofisher.com/global/en/job/R-01347477/Field-Application-Sc…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fjobs.ther…>
All the best
George
Dear Geochemists,
Deadlines for our bursaries are only a month away, so please consider applying!
Meeting Attendance Bursaries (PhDs and ECRs) (deadline 15th May)
The Geochemistry Group welcomes applications from researchers registered at UK and Irish universities or research institutions to facilitate the presentation of their geochemistry-related research at a meeting hosted online, within the UK or internationally. The bursary is open to students regardless of funding situation as well postdoctoral researchers without financial support for conference attendance. Full eligibility criteria are listed in the application form which can be downloaded from our website: https://geochemistrygroup.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=130&action=e…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgeochemis…> These are often under subscribed, so you stand a great chance of success!
NEW! Technical Staff Meeting Attendance Bursary (deadline 15th May)
The Geochemistry Group welcomes applications from technical staff (laboratory technicians/managers, project officers, etc.), based at UK and Irish universities or research institutions and working in geochemistry laboratories (either on a short-term or on a permanent basis), to facilitate their attendance at meetings within the UK or internationally.
Funding for the following types of expenses can be applied for through this bursary: (i) offsetting the cost of travel to, and accommodation at, conferences, workshops or training courses being attended in person (the Geochemistry Group encourages low-carbon travel modes but it is also possible to claim for carbon offsetting costs if flying is inevitable); (ii) contributions towards the cost of registration and abstract fees for both online and in-person professional meeting, or (iii) a combination of both. Full eligibility criteria are listed in the application form which can be downloaded from our website: https://geochemistrygroup.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=130&action=e…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgeochemis…>
Design our new logo!
I am sure you will agree that our logo now seems a little outdated, so we are asking the community to suggest a fresh logo design! This is a rare opportunity to step out of the lab and let your artistic side out!
Please email your design ideas (however rough at this stage!) to George Cooper (CooperG3(a)cardiff.ac.uk<mailto:CooperG3@cardiff.ac.uk>) by May 15th, We will then review the entries at our next committee meeting before a final vote. Please do send your ideas in, or we will have to hand over control to the questionable hands of AI!
MinSoc Skills and Training
The next event (21st April 2026) is: An introduction to Single Crystal X-ray and Electron diffraction techniques <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fzoom.us%2…> by Robert Bannister, Daniel Rainer and Peter Horton (UK National Crystallography Centre, University of Southampton). Register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/nOTgbAGRTYici9nM5PB4gQ#/registration<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fzoom.us%2…>
Determining the atomic arrangement within crystalline materials is fundamental to understanding their properties and behaviour. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) has long been the gold standard for precise structure determination, offering detailed insights into symmetry and coordination environments. However, the main barrier to the use of SCXRD as a technique is the ability to grow suitably sized crystals of sufficient quality. Due to the significantly increased interaction between electrons and matter, when compared with X-rays, electron diffraction (3DED) allows us to study crystals magnitudes smaller than SCXRD experiments. This enables structure solution from nanocrystalline materials. Together, these methods provide a powerful set of techniques for resolving complex structures, but each comes with its own challenges in data collection, interpretation, and refinement. In this talk we will begin with discussing routine SCXRD experiments and then explore 3DED, in both instances looking at sample preparation, through data collection and into structure solution.
All the best
George
Dear Geochemists,
A big thank you!
We first want to thank everyone who attended GGRiP in Bristol last week. For all those who attended, I am sure you will agree that it was a fantastic meeting!
Thanks again to all our sponsors who make the meeting possible, and to the Bristol local organising committee for all their hard work in making it run so smoothly.
The standard of student presentations at this year's meeting was outstanding, which made judging incredibly difficult! We awarded three best student poster presentations to Lucy Stott, Jose Sebastian Nava de la Pena and Bernat Heszler, and three best student oral presentations to Judy Wang, Will Osborne and Kyra Schroeder. Congrats to our winners, and all our student presenters!
We had a brilliant keynote from Lena Chen, our 2026 Postdoctoral medal winner and a great invited talk from Paul Beguelin (honourable mention), as well as two fantastic keynotes from our 2025 ECR Prominent Lecture awardees Rebekah Moore and Savannah Worne.
At GGRiP this year, we awarded the 2026 ECR Prominent Lecture award to Julia Neukampf. Julia has proposed two lectures for hosts to choose from: 'Lithium fingerprints across the silicic volcanic life cycle’ and 'Exploring the role of halogens and lithium in early Solar System magmatic processes’. Our website will be updated soon with further details, but if you would like to host Julia, you can reach out directly (julia.neukampf(a)manchester.ac.uk) or or email the Geochemistry Group secretary, George Cooper (CooperG3(a)cardiff.ac.uk).
Plans are already taking place for GGRiP 2027, which will be held at Royal Holloway - watch this space for more information!
Design our new logo!
I am sure you will agree that our logo now seems a little outdated, so we are planning to freshen it up...
To do so, we would like to open-up a competition to the community to design the new logo. This is a rare opportunity to step out of the lab and let your artistic side out!
Please email your design ideas (however rough at this stage!) to George Cooper (CooperG3(a)cardiff.ac.uk) by May 15th, We will then review the entries at our next committee meeting before a final vote.
Please do send your ideas in, or we will have to hand over control to the questionable hands of AI!
All the best
George
Dear Geochemists,
The Geochemistry Group is looking to recruit a new committee member who will be selected at our AGM during GGRiP next week.
The role involve attending quarterly committee meetings (typically online) and helping to support ongoing Geochemistry Group activities. Terms are ~3 years.
We realise this is a late call, but to express your interest in joining, please get in touch with either Paul Savage (Chair): pss3(a)st-andrews.ac.uk<mailto:pss3@st-andrews.ac.uk> or Marie-Laure Bagard (Secretary): mlb63(a)cam.ac.uk<mailto:mlb63@cam.ac.uk>
All the best
George
Dr George Cooper (ef/fo - he/him)
Cymrawd Ymchwil Prifysgol, y Gymdeithas Frenhinol | Royal Society University Research Fellow
Ysgol Gwyddorau’r Ddaear a’r Amgylchedd | School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Prifysgol Caerdydd | Cardiff University
Ebost | Email: CooperG3(a)cardiff.ac.uk
Ystafell | Office: 1.74A
Dear Geochemists,
The MinSoc has announced a new a new Eileen Guppy Technicians’ Award.
Research in Mineralogy, Geology and the wider Earth Sciences routinely utilises laboratories, I am sure many of you know and appreciate the important work that technicians (in the wider sense of the word) play to deliver research outcomes, support teaching, H&S regulation, outreach activities and many other things. Therefore, I hope you will welcome the new award the Mineralogical Society council has created and potentially nominate someone you think deserves recognition in this way.
The Eileen Guppy Technicians’ Award aims to showcase the vital role of technicians in enabling and delivering high-quality research. It is open for individuals (in odd years e.g. 2027) and teams (in even years e.g. 2028).
We invite applications (internationally) in the fields of Mineralogy and Earth Science that fall within the remit of the Mineralogical Society.
The award is named in honour of Dr Eileen Mary Guppy (1903–1980), a geologist, petrologist and analytical chemist. She was the first female geologist appointed by the organisation now known as the British Geological Survey, working as a technical assistant.
Nomination deadline is 18th April 2026, and the award will be presented in 2027. The winner will get a Certificate and a Plaque to be awarded at an appropriate scientific event of the Mineralogical Society.
All details including detailed nomination criteria can be found here.
www.minersoc.org/guppy-award.html<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.miners…>
Please circulate this opportunity in your department and network, passing it on to people who could nominate excellent technical staff (self-nomination is possible as well). A brief flyer about the award is attached.
All other MinSoc award details can be found on the MinSoc website: https://www.minersoc.org/awards.html<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.miner…>.
All the best
George
[AwardFlyer.jpg]
Dear Geochemists,
A reminder that the GGRIP registration and abstract submission deadline is this Friday (27th February)!
Please do this through the GGRiP website: https://ggrip2026.co.uk/<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fggrip2026…>
It is shaping up to be a great meeting! We have a fantastic set of confirmed Keynote speakers (listed below):
GGRiP 2026 Keynotes:
* Dr. Barbara Kunz, Open University. Barbara is a geochemist managing the LA-ICP-MS lab at The Open University. Her background is in high-grade metamorphism and anatexis of crustal rocks. Her work includes the effects of prolonged high-temperature metamorphism on isotopic and element signatures in geochronometers as well as the influence of partial melting reaction on mobilising critical elements into granitic melts. She also champions the Technician Commitment at the OU to increase the visibility, recognitions and career development of research technical professionals.
* Prof. Tim Elliott, University of Bristol. Tim has spent his career making various isotope measurements of mantle derived rocks, bits of other planetary bodes and the occasional biogenic carbonate. He learned his trade amidst the concrete cows on Milton Keynes and further indulged this habit in the somewhat more uplifting environments of Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory and the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam before retuning to the UK. Over the past 25 years in Bristol, he has been pleasantly surprised by the new vistas offered by multi-collector plasma mass-spectrometry and has dabbled with the capabilities offered by adding a collision cell to such instruments.
* Dr Alexandra Auderset, University of Southampton. Alexandra is a paleoclimatologist/paleooceanographer and Anniversary Fellow at the University of Southampton. Her research focuses on marine archives to investigate climate change across glacial/interglacial cycles, during the Neogene era, and warming events that occurred in the Cenozoic period, such as the Middle Miocene and Early Eocene Climate Optima. She uses various emergent proxies, including lipid biomarkers and fossil-bound nitrogen/carbon isotopes to study interactions between marine nutrients, ocean circulation, oxygen minimum zones and global climate.
* Dr. Rebekah Moore, Imperial College London (The Geochemistry Group’s Early Career Researcher Prominent Lecture 2025/26). Rebekah is a Research Fellow at Imperial College London, where she has been a researcher and a member of the MAGIC isotope geochemistry group for the last twelve years. Since gaining her MSci in Geoscience in 2013 from Durham University, she has pioneered multidisciplinary research addressing critical health, food systems and environmental challenges, such as zinc deficiency, using ICP-MS, LA-ICP-MS and MC-ICP-MS. This year, she has collaborated with mycologists and social scientists on two exciting projects that aim to improve the intake of micronutrients by vulnerable populations, using ecologically-beneficial farming techniques and food production methods.
* Dr. Savannah Worne, Loughborough University (The Geochemistry Group’s Early Career Researcher Prominent Lecture 2025/26). Savannah is a Research Fellow at Loughborough University. Her work spans aquatic environmental biogeoscience, with interests in algal productivity, nutrient cycling, aquatic pollution, and the impacts of climate change on ecosystem structure and function. Her current fellowship focuses on understanding how nutrient cycling and harmful algal blooms interact in managed lakes. By combining water and sediment isotope geochemistry with ecological analyses, her research takes a holistic view of ecosystem health and explores how these systems may respond to climate change and human pressures.
* Dr. Lena Chen, University of Bristol (The Geochemistry Group’s Postdoctoral Medal Winner 2026). Lena is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol. Her research lies between geochemistry and environmental mineralogy. Her interest in geochemistry began during her MSci in Geology at Imperial College London, where she used trace metal stable isotopes to investigate the interactions between sediment and seawater. Building on this foundation, her PhD at the University of Leeds examined how mineral transformation processes in sediments impart isotopic signals to trace metals. Her current research focuses on the durability of uranium and thorium-bearing ceramic minerals as potential hosts for immobilising radioactive waste. She investigates the mechanisms and kinetics of their dissolution in groundwater, contributing to the development of a robust safety-case for the long-term disposal of radioactive waste.
See you in Bristol!
George
Dear Geochemists,
Early bird registration for GGRiP has now closed, however you still have 10 days left to register and submit your abstracts (https://ggrip2026.co.uk/<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fggrip2026…>).
It is shaping up to be a great meeting! We have a fantastic set of confirmed Keynote speakers (listed below):
We are also thrilled to announce that our 2026 Postdoctoral Medal winner is Dr. Lena Chen (University of Bristol), who will give a GGRiP keynote on her winning publication “Mineralogical controls of the oceanic nickel cycle”<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.natur…> in Nature Communications.
This year, we had an extremely high-quality set of applications, so we also give honourable mentions to two further outstanding contributions:
* Dr Paul Beguelin (Cardiff University) for the paper: “Variations in Hawaiian Plume Flux Controlled by Ancient Mantle Depletion”<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fagupubs.o…> in AGU Advances.
*
Dr Kun Zhang (UCL) for the paper: “Ocean deoxygenation after the Sturtian Snowball”<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.natur…> in Nature Communications.
Read more about the Medal winners on our website: https://geochemistry.group/awards-and-medals/<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgeochemis…>.
GGRiP 2026 Keynotes:
* Dr. Barbara Kunz, Open University. Barbara is a geochemist managing the LA-ICP-MS lab at The Open University. Her background is in high-grade metamorphism and anatexis of crustal rocks. Her work includes the effects of prolonged high-temperature metamorphism on isotopic and element signatures in geochronometers as well as the influence of partial melting reaction on mobilising critical elements into granitic melts. She also champions the Technician Commitment at the OU to increase the visibility, recognitions and career development of research technical professionals.
* Prof. Tim Elliott, University of Bristol. Tim has spent his career making various isotope measurements of mantle derived rocks, bits of other planetary bodes and the occasional biogenic carbonate. He learned his trade amidst the concrete cows on Milton Keynes and further indulged this habit in the somewhat more uplifting environments of Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory and the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam before retuning to the UK. Over the past 25 years in Bristol, he has been pleasantly surprised by the new vistas offered by multi-collector plasma mass-spectrometry and has dabbled with the capabilities offered by adding a collision cell to such instruments.
* Dr Alexandra Auderset, University of Southampton. Alexandra is a paleoclimatologist/paleooceanographer and Anniversary Fellow at the University of Southampton. Her research focuses on marine archives to investigate climate change across glacial/interglacial cycles, during the Neogene era, and warming events that occurred in the Cenozoic period, such as the Middle Miocene and Early Eocene Climate Optima. She uses various emergent proxies, including lipid biomarkers and fossil-bound nitrogen/carbon isotopes to study interactions between marine nutrients, ocean circulation, oxygen minimum zones and global climate.
* Dr. Rebekah Moore, Imperial College London (The Geochemistry Group’s Early Career Researcher Prominent Lecture 2025/26). Rebekah is a Research Fellow at Imperial College London, where she has been a researcher and a member of the MAGIC isotope geochemistry group for the last twelve years. Since gaining her MSci in Geoscience in 2013 from Durham University, she has pioneered multidisciplinary research addressing critical health, food systems and environmental challenges, such as zinc deficiency, using ICP-MS, LA-ICP-MS and MC-ICP-MS. This year, she has collaborated with mycologists and social scientists on two exciting projects that aim to improve the intake of micronutrients by vulnerable populations, using ecologically-beneficial farming techniques and food production methods.
* Dr. Savannah Worne, Loughborough University (The Geochemistry Group’s Early Career Researcher Prominent Lecture 2025/26). Savannah is a Research Fellow at Loughborough University. Her work spans aquatic environmental biogeoscience, with interests in algal productivity, nutrient cycling, aquatic pollution, and the impacts of climate change on ecosystem structure and function. Her current fellowship focuses on understanding how nutrient cycling and harmful algal blooms interact in managed lakes. By combining water and sediment isotope geochemistry with ecological analyses, her research takes a holistic view of ecosystem health and explores how these systems may respond to climate change and human pressures.
* Dr. Lena Chen, University of Bristol (The Geochemistry Group’s Postdoctoral Medal Winner 2026). Lena is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol. Her research lies between geochemistry and environmental mineralogy. Her interest in geochemistry began during her MSci in Geology at Imperial College London, where she used trace metal stable isotopes to investigate the interactions between sediment and seawater. Building on this foundation, her PhD at the University of Leeds examined how mineral transformation processes in sediments impart isotopic signals to trace metals. Her current research focuses on the durability of uranium and thorium-bearing ceramic minerals as potential hosts for immobilising radioactive waste. She investigates the mechanisms and kinetics of their dissolution in groundwater, contributing to the development of a robust safety-case for the long-term disposal of radioactive waste.
See you in Bristol!
George
Dear Geochemists,
A reminder that early bird registration for the GGRiP meeting closes in 3 days (15th Feb). After this, prices will increase!
Please visit the GGRiP website<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fggrip2026…> to register NOW. You have another two weeks until the abstract submission deadline (27th Feb).
All the best
George
