Dear Geochemists, Happy New Year! We hope you all enjoyed a well deserved break. Deadlines for our awards and bursaries are only a week away, so please get your applications in... Geochemistry Group Awards (deadline 15th January): * The Geochemistry Group Postdoctoral Medal is awarded each year to a postdoctoral researcher who has published outstanding research in a peer-reviewed journal within the broad field of geochemistry. Nominations for the GG Medal can be submitted at any time throughout the year and will be reviewed at the January committee meeting. Please visit our website for full details and to apply https://geochemistry.group/awards-and-medals/<https://eur03.safelinks.pr… If you know a postdoc with a great paper, then please encourage them to apply!! * Early Career Researcher Prominent Lecture Series. For more information please visit our website: https://geochemistry.group/awards-and-medals/<https://eur03.safelinks.pr…amp;reserved=0>. Meeting Attendance Bursaries (PhDs and ECRs) (deadline 15th January) 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&acti… These are often under subscribed, so you stand a great chance of success! GGRiP 2026 – Bristol: The next Geochemistry Group Research in Progress (GGRiP) meeting will take place in Bristol on the 24th-26th of March 2026. Visit the GGRiP website<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%… to Register and see the full schedule For GGRiP 2026 in Bristol, we are running 2 pre-conference workshops that will be free for attendees: * The first will be a Geochemistry Laboratory Operator Workshop, covering lab techniques and lab management. Register for this workshop here<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ff…amp;reserved=0>. * The second workshop will be aimed at ECRs, covering the basics and foundations of mass spectrometry techniques. To register for this workshop, please fill in this form<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ff…amp;reserved=0>. There will be guest lecturers from across earth science/chemistry/Archaeology. Topics will include: (1) Introduction to Atoms, Molecules, Ions, Fields and Forces. (2) Inorganic Mass Spectrometry for Elemental and Isotope Ratio Determination: Quads, TOF, Sectors, (CC)-MC-ICPMS. (3) GC and LC Mass Spectrometry Techniques for Separating and Quantifying Molecules in Complex Mixtures; compound specific IRMS (C,N,H). Mineralogical Society at 150: Past Discoveries and Future Frontiers: The Mineralogical Society will celebrate its sesquicentennial during 2026. The focal point of our celebrations will be a three-day meeting at the University of Manchester from 23–25 June 2026. All are welcome, from students and early-career researchers to those who have a lifetime of Society experience under their belts! A key element of the programme will focus on the history of the Society. As part of our celebration, we will publish an article in Mineralogical Magazine describing the history of the Society. In addition, we will celebrate the key people who have contributed to the organization, to our journals and to mineral science over the past 150 years. We would welcome contributions which look at the history of our Society, its leaders and, our disciplines. These may fit in any of the sessions but certainly are welcomed in the ‘Universal Session’. The scientific sessions (up to 3x parallel sessions are planned) will be held in the Schuster Building and the banquet, on the night of 23rd June, will be held at the wonderful Whitworth Hall. More information on the event webpage: https://minsoc-150.org/<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?… MinSoc Skills and Training: Register here for an upcoming event (4th February 2026): <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fzoom.us%2Fmeeting%2Fregister%2Fa5EtWaNaRMu2tJdY2ZUn-w%2523%2Fregistration&data=05%7C02%7Cgeochemistry.group%40mailman.cardiff.ac.uk%7C2bc436f4b64947d2e79008de3d581ed5%7Cbdb74b3095684856bdbf06759778fcbc%7C1%7C0%7C639015645839331801%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=oXFn%2BwVJ3gDxgVP2WxkQ2xArkhuegv8seB8zcu5Sxk0%3D&reserved=0> <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fzoom.us%2Fmeeting%2Fregister%2Fa5EtWaNaRMu2tJdY2ZUn-w%2523%2Fregistration&data=05%7C02%7Cgeochemistry.group%40mailman.cardiff.ac.uk%7C2bc436f4b64947d2e79008de3d581ed5%7Cbdb74b3095684856bdbf06759778fcbc%7C1%7C0%7C639015645839372504%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=wsonOCYYfURJfvR%2F4T9y6g3%2FkMOMwGhex8PRDSl3X9w%3D&reserved=0> The Brilliance of Defects – The Mineralogical and Petrological Significance of Luminescence in Minerals<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F… <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fzoom.us%2Fmeeting%2Fregister%2Fa5EtWaNaRMu2tJdY2ZUn-w&data=05%7C02%7Cgeochemistry.group%40mailman.cardiff.ac.uk%7C2bc436f4b64947d2e79008de3d581ed5%7Cbdb74b3095684856bdbf06759778fcbc%7C1%7C0%7C639015645839439658%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Fac2rDb%2FuKrD%2BiV4lWhJ0cUC3nzrSDg94OIDo2ANNeY%3D&reserved=0> by Adrian Finch (St. Andrews) Luminescence of minerals contains information about the structural state of metals and defects at ultradilute concentrations. In principle, the light emitted is a powerful tool for determining defect structure, but interpreting such data is challenging since we have an incomplete understanding of luminescence in many minerals, and how features such as coordination state and symmetry are encoded within it. This short course will explore what information can be extracted from luminescence in mineral systems, beginning with the mineral physics behind the process, but moving onto the geological information that one can obtain. The course explores both the uses of both luminescence spectroscopy and petrography. More info on the MinSoc page: https://www.minersoc.org/skills-and-training.html<https://eur03.safelink… PhD list: We have lots of geochemistry-related PhD projects on our list and more are being added. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16OQpC1r2lP199Tu9ZH5ZGyjYHAqHDOdFGRT… .Please share this list with any prospective PhD students! If you want to add to this list, please fill out the details here: https://forms.gle/X1vMMoYr1QPzdgmC7<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.o… . Follow us on Bluesky, LinkedIn & YouTube: * Follow us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/geochemgroup.bsky.social<https://eur03.safelink…amp;reserved=0>. * We now have the Geochemistry Group set up as a ‘company' on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-geochemistry-group/<https://eur03.s…amp;reserved=0>, so please follow us here! * Also a plug for our parent body, the Mineralogical Society of the UK and Ireland, follow them on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mineralogical-society-of-uk-and-ireland/&l… for lots of relevant updates. * Check out some great resources on our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@geochemistrygroup4420<https://eur03.safelinks.p…amp;reserved=0>. Here you can watch all our past series of 'ECR Skills for Geochemists' and 'Out of Academia: Into Science’. The latest session of “Things I wish I knew when I started my PhD…” is now on our YouTube channel! 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