Victoria’s shipboard role is being a paleomagnetist.
Field work summer of ’22, Central Mongolia. The research team discusses structural geology problems. Victoria joined as a member of the Utah Paleomagnetic Center at the University of Utah.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Describe your hobbies and interests outside of science. I spend a lot of time outdoors; skiing, hiking, rollerblading or skateboarding. I also read lots of fantasy books and enjoy listening to live music. I try to travel as often as I can and immerse myself in different cultures.
What kind of scientist are you and what do you do? I am a graduate student and I identify as a Rock Magnetist. I analyze the magnetic properties of rocks and minerals to learn more about geological processes, environmental conditions, and the history of Earth’s magnetic field. I am passionate about early geoscience education. I spent a year working with a local middle school, bringing hands-on experiments and facilitating field trips revolving around earth science and geology. I volunteer at outreach events as often as I can.
Field work summer of ’22, Central Mongolia. Another image of the research team discussing geology.Field work summer of ’22, Central Mongolia. I am using a Brunton to take an oriented hand sample for paleomag (to interpret the magnetic signal of the Earth from deep time).
What is your favorite part about being a scientist, and how did you get interested in science? I have a very non-linear path. I took a few years off between high school and college, working at a local bar with no thought about higher education. I decided to go back to school and entered college as an anthropology major, took one geology course and fell in love. Our Geoclub held field trips every long weekend, where I was able to spend time camping outside with friends and learning about rocks. It is those moments that made me want to become a geologist. I also have an undergraduate degree in anthropology. I try to use it as often as possible, with my senior thesis being an archeo-magnetic study on Floridan potsherds. I am also currently involved in geoarchaeology research on roman concrete. I am president of Energy Club (an adaption of AAPG) at the University of Utah. With this club, I coordinate monthly seminars with industry professionals with the aim of teaching undergraduate student’s transferable skills (importance of machine learning in geoscience, adobe Illustrator for figure making, etc) and sharing career trajectories (hosting career panels filled with government, industry, and academics). We also hold a yearly department poster session with monetary awards for both graduate and undergraduate students. This coming year, we hope to hold an “earth science art exhibit” where students and professors can show off their artistic side with paintings of field sites, ‘beautiful’ data sets, and even a ‘bake your thesis’ category.
Field work in the Tetons in Wyoming, we had to get helicoptered in and we camped on the ice!
How did you learn about scientific ocean drilling? I told my advisor I would love to be on a research vessel and he shared with me the call for a paleomagnetist for this expedition.
How does your work contribute to the betterment of society in general? Magneto stratigraphy helps us date sediments. Rock magnetism can tell us about the strength and direction of the magnetic field at a certain time and location. It is also used to better understand tectonic processes.
More field photos from the ice after we helicoptered in. ! I assisted a friend with their work, acting as a geotech as they cored lake sediments for paleoclimate studies.
What advice do you have for prospective scientists? It truly is for anyone! People from all different backgrounds find their way into geoscience.
Have you received a piece of advice from your friends/mentors/advisors that has helped you navigate your career? Don’t be in a rush. Do what makes you excited, doing it fast while stressed out helps no one.
How did you get into science? I’m a first generation student who grew up in rural East Tennessee and unfortunately didn’t have a great science education heading into college. I didn’t know science was something I liked and could be good at until college and graduate school was never on my radar. I found geology through my love of rock climbing, and luckily had a professor offer to let me tag along on some field work, which kickstarted my research career. That same professor later encouraged me to apply to grad school and helped me through the process.
How did you learn about scientific ocean drilling? My advisor sailed on Expedition 396, and I’ve been working on samples from that expedition for the past two years.
What is your role on the ship? I study lavas that come from the Earth’s mantle to see what they can tell us about what the mantle is made of since we can’t directly sample the mantle or go see it.
Do you use proxy data in your research? Using the geochemistry of basalts (the type of lava typically erupted on the ocean floor) to deduce what the mantle is made of is a type of proxy work, but it’s quite tricky. There’s still so much we don’t know! I’ve developed numerical models to help constrain the possible chemical make-up of mantle source rocks based on the composition of lavas erupted at the surface.
How does your work contribute to the understanding of our Earth? Continental rifting is a primary tectonic process and major shaper of the Earth, yet it’s still not fully understood. My research tells us about what the Earth’s mantle is doing throughout the rifting process and if/how the mantle conditions control the type of rifts produced.
How are you training the next generation of scientists? My university has a great program called the Undergraduate Mentor Development Program which allows graduate students to be certified mentors for undergraduates interested in doing research. I completed the program my first semester as a Ph.D. student and have been mentoring the same undergraduate student since my second semester. It’s so rewarding to see how excited she gets about science and it’s been great to see her grow as a scientist.
Do you conduct scientific outreach? I spent last semester in a local high school working with geology and biology classes to help bring my science to them, but also to observe and learn from their teachers how to best communicate science to teenagers.
What are your hobbies and interests outside of science? I enjoy reading and outdoor recreation, especially climbing and skiing.
Is there anything else about yourself you would like to share? I do it all for my dog and two cats.
What advice do you have for prospective scientists? Science is for everyone! Scientists are often portrayed in the media as stuffy old dudes that take themselves way too seriously, but we’re just normal people with a lot of curiosity about the world around us.
Fake it until you make it is a big one for me. Imposter syndrome is real, and sometimes it helps just to keep in mind that a lot of people feel like they’re faking it when from the outside they’re obviously crushing it.
Hi folks, I’m Roxanne and I’m currently a PhD candidate over at Yale University in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department. As a vertebrate palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist, I spend a lot of my time wondering “how on earth did snakes get to be so damn weird?” and use tools from various scientific disciplines to answer different aspects of this question.
Apparently you can’t be a snake palaeontologist without having a fancy photo of you holding your study organism, so here’s me with an adorable python.
What research are you doing for your PhD?
My PhD research focuses on the question “why are snake skulls the way they are?”
Most modern snakes feed in a very unusual way – they are able to consume prey items significantly larger than the size of their own heads, and do so without chewing or breaking their food up into smaller pieces. If a human were to do this, it would be like swallowing an entire chocolate cake whole instead of cutting it up into slices first. Modern snakes can also control the left side of their face independently to the right side. This enables them to direct their skull bones in way which produces a tooth-laden conveyer belt motion that drags food into their mouths. Pretty useful when you have no hands to help you eat! These behaviours are only possible due to the unique way modern snake skulls are built – but how these novel anatomical features have arisen over evolutionary time is not yet well understood. When in geological history did these key anatomical changes happen? Were some parts of snake anatomy only able to change once other features had evolved, or been lost? Are there compromises to having a flexible skull, such as limiting the type of prey snakes can eat, or how strong their bite force is?
To answer these questions, I spend a lot of my time examining snake fossils. The snake fossil record is pretty sparse, especially if you are looking for skull material, but through a combination of new fieldwork sites and rummaging around museum collections, we sometimes get lucky! These fossils help us understand what regions of the snake skull have changed over 60(+) million years, when in geological time modern groups of snakes first appeared, and how small changes in anatomy can lead to big differences in an animal’s feeding behaviour.
What is your favorite part about being a scientist, and how did you get interested in science? I grew up in the UK and began my university education there too. When it came to picking a place to conduct PhD research, I was excited about the possibility of working abroad, and being able to explore fieldwork in new landscapes and biomes than I was used to. I love that being a scientist can take you anywhere in the world, and you get to discover new places and cultures, whilst still having geeky conversations with folks from different backgrounds to my own.
As a kid, I was one of those people who was always asking the questions and trying to link together what I knew of the natural world. Learning new things relating to prehistoric life and ancient environments was what brought the most joy. As a first-generation student, the concept of going to university was pretty alien, and at that stage in my life, I don’t think I’d even met a scientist who wasn’t one of my high school teachers. I deliberately picked an undergraduate degree which would let me continue to explore multiple science disciplines which ‘traditionally’ were not considered to compliment each other: geology, developmental biology, and evolution and behaviour. By then I knew I loved science but did not want to give up asking questions from these different perspectives. I never thought I’d actually become a palaeontologist – it was one of those impossible dream professions, no different from the musings of a 5-year-old who wants to grow up and become a princess, or a steam train. Midway through undergrad one of my guidance tutors reassured me that not only was palaeontology ‘a real job’ but something that I could build a career in too. He encouraged me to reach out to palaeontology professors around the UK; some of which offered me summer research positions in their labs. After getting a taste of doing research full-time, I knew I wanted that to be a large part of my vocation.
Rummaging around palaeontology collections, searching for one cranial bone amongst hundreds of snake vertebrae.
Inside a museum herpetology collection: shelves lined with jars of modern snakes preserved in alcohol. These are ideal for comparing modern snake anatomy to that of fossil snakes.
What advice do you have for up and coming scientists? It’s never too early to build yourself a network of scientists. Introduce yourself to researchers whose work you enjoy, respect or are excited to ask questions about. Whilst this can seem daunting, there’s a lot of empathy in the field. For every experienced academic, there was once a shy undergraduate feeling out of their depth – so those scientists worth talking to will be kind to someone new to academia. The vast majority of modern research is not possible without collaborating with others – so find scientists who value you as a researcher and a thinker, irrespective of your ‘academic age’ or academic position. These are the folks you will likely grow the most from, and also have the most fun being a scientist with.
Excavating part of a fossil temnospondyl during fieldwork (not a snake, but equally cool).
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Greetings! I’m Jacqueline Silviria. I’m originally from Los Angeles, California. I received my BS at the New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, my MS at the University of New Mexico, and am currently working on my PhD at the University of Washington, Seattle. I’ve been a fan of Japanese animation for about a decade, and I collect out-of-print DVD and BluRay boxsets of 1990s-early 2000s series, as well as rare figurines and statues. Recently, I also started collecting 1990s animation cels from series in my media library. Expect me to visit every major North American Japantown and Chinatown at least once in search of vintage merch! I also seek out rare natural history books and articles from the early-mid 20th century, especially those from China, Japan, and the former Soviet Union. That hobby has become much less expensive thanks to internet archives and interlibrary loan services!
Holding an earliest Paleocene “archaic ungulate” jaw from the Burke collections (probably Mimatuta, but I still need to work out the exact species) in the new photogrammetry lab at the UW Life Science Building. The jaw was found by Wilson Mantilla lab alumn Luke Weaver (now at Kent State University) in 2019. The whole animal probably weighed no more than 1-2 kg, about the size of a ferret!
What kind of scientist are you and what do you do? I’m starting my second year as a PhD student in the UW Department of Earth & Space Science, working in Gregory Wilson Mantilla’s lab in the Department of Biology and the Burke Museum of Natural History & Science. My main research interests are the morphometry, phylogenetic systematics, and biogeography of ungulates (hooved mammals). I’m currently focused on the postcanine dental anatomy of the earliest ungulates in North America, from the aftermath of the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) mass extinction. I employ photogrammetry and micro-CT scanning to make 3D models of ungulate jaws and teeth, for collection of shape data important for distinguish different species. I’m planning to print 3D models for use in our Evolution of Mammals and their Ancestors undergraduate course, as well as public outreach events at the Burke Museum. Every summer, I help the Burke’s Hell Creek Project organize and instruct the DIG Field School, which brings K-12 teachers to our K/Pg field sites in Montana, so they bring back the wonders of vertebrate paleontology to their own classrooms. I also recently started The Last King of the Jungle Discord sever for professional researchers to discuss the latest news in mammal paleontology.
Here I am at an exposure of the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary at Lerbekmo Hill in Hell Creek State Park, Montana. I’m pointing to a thin reddish-brown clay layer, rich in iridium from the Chicxulub bolide impact 66 million years ago. We dug this section for the DIG teachers to take their own pictures!
What is your favorite part about being a scientist, and how did you get interested in science? My first job in paleontology was as a student curator for the invertebrate paleontology teaching collections at New Mexico Tech and the New Mexico Bureau of Geology. It was through this position that I met Thomas Williamson at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, who noticed my enthusiasm for mammalian evolution and systematics; I would later work as a curatorial assistant at the museum while working on my Masters. Since then, my favorite part of research has been collections curation and management, because it allows me to look at material that would otherwise be forgotten. I especially enjoy specimen photography and am quite proficient at focus-stacking images of mammalian teeth (I thank Tom for teaching how). I also taught myself computer software for cladistic analyses of evolutionary relationships; I’m most familiar with the maximum parsimony approach, but I’m hoping to get more fluent in maximum likelihood methods. Such analyses permit a get fresh, quantitative perspective on species and taxa that may have been ignored since their original description, and thus not securely placed in the tree of life.
But while I consider myself a collections-based “armchair” researcher, I also enjoy paleontological fieldwork for the simple pleasure of visiting exotic and remote localities I normally wouldn’t have the time or money to go to. Picking live anthills for mammal teeth and other small fossils is a favorite task of fieldwork, if only for the adrenaline rush of racing against the clock before the ants unplug their nest! And even if I have a bad day at a fossil site, I know I will have learned enough about the geology of the area that it’s worth going back the next year.
I still collect old scientific articles and books on occasion. Here I’m holding an original printing of William Matthew’s Paleocene Faunas of the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, auctioned at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s 2022 meeting in Toronto. If I remember correctly, this copy was at one point owned by Everett Olson. Matthew’s monograph remains the go-to source of information on many early Paleocene North American ungulate mammals. Photo credit: Thomas Williamson & Sarah Shelley.
How does your work contribute to the betterment of society in general? As a transgender woman, I heed the call to serve as a good role model for other LGBTIQA+ students and early career researchers in geology and paleontology, especially given the current political climate in North America and Europe. I think great strides have been taken at LGBTIQA+ representation and equality at paleontological societies compared to other scientific institutions, but more work needs to be done so that we don’t backtrack and repeat the mistakes of the past. Additionally, I’m the first person in my immediate family, trans or otherwise, to pursue a PhD degree.
More importantly, as a collections-based researcher, I feel a responsibility to preserve and protect our public cultural and scientific heritage, particularly when many institutions face the threat of defunding or even privatization. The material housed in natural history museum and university collections comprise an irreplaceable knowledge base for systematic research that permits broader scale “big picture” analyses, like ecological studies on the effects of climate change. I hope that my future outreach efforts online and at the Burke Museum will promote collections curation and management, especially at paleontological institution, so up-and-coming students will see at as an invaluable public service and not simply “rock hounding” or “stamp collecting”.
What advice do you have for up and coming scientists? My advice is to be flexible with approaches and interests in the very beginning, but later consider specializing in what gives you joy and what you excel in. When exploring research programs in your field, acknowledge that ideas and procedures evolve over time, and that absolute certainty is impossible in the natural sciences, but still work towards honoring and preserving the accomplishments of your academic predecessors for future generations. In other words, be anti-authoritarian but authoritative (to paraphrase Niels Bonde’s retrospective on Colin Patterson). And do not shun systematics/taxonomy because it can be difficult for poorly studied groups of organisms; without it, the language of science risks becoming inscrutable garble!
Taking a break from field work to look at Falcarius vertebrae as a visiting researcher in the Natural History Museum of Utah’s (UMNH) paleontology collections.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Hi! I am Adam Moore. I am a 1st year MS graduate student at North Carolina State University. Originally, I am from Kill Devil Hills, NC (a part of the Outer Banks of coastal North Carolina). This past May, I finished up my Bachelor’s Degree from North Carolina State University with a BS in Geology and two Minors in Biological Sciences and Paleontology. When not working on school or research, I enjoy reading (typically about dinosaurs!), photography, hiking, camping, visiting museums, and traveling. In fact, I love these so much that, after field work in Utah this past summer, I decided to drive back to North Carolina from Utah so that I could visit a few of the National Parks and museums along the way!
What kind of scientist are you and what do you do?
I am a Master’s student in Geology working on becoming a vertebrate paleontologist with a focus on dinosaurs. As of now, since I am just starting out, I do an assortment of things related to paleontology. Currently, I have a few different research projects I am working on along with my Master’s Thesis.
During my Bachelor’s Degree, in 2022, I started a research project in the biology department at my school that involved identifying fossilized shark teeth from one specific site. This is something that I am currently still working on. At that time, I was also involved in an internship at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in the Paleontology Lab where I worked on an assortment of different projects around the lab. I eventually started a project that developed further into a research project. The research involved the vertebrae of an early-diverging therizinosaur known as Falcarius utahensis to understand parts of its ontogeny. To my delight, I will have the chance to present my research on Falcarius at the 2023 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology conference in the form of a poster.
Extremely dirty wearing a no-longer-white shirt in the badlands of Utah during paleontology field work.
This past August, at the start of the school semester, I began working on my Master’s Thesis. The research I am doing for my MS involves a mix of paleoclimate and dinosaurs. I will be looking at data from a few different sites in Western North America from the Cretaceous Period to better understand the climates of those regions to see how it impacted dinosaurs from Laramidia.
Outside of direct research, I have also been fortunate enough to be involved in paleontology in other ways as well through the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. For the last two summers (2022 and 2023), I have done field work in the Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah. Participating in field work is, in my opinion, one of the coolest aspects of paleontology. I mean, when you uncover a new fossil, you get to be the first human to ever see those fossils! It is always great being out there finding new material (or at least trying to find new material)!
During paleontology field work in Utah preparing for a summer afternoon rainstorm.
What is your favorite part about being a scientist, and how did you get interested in science? Simple curiosity, wonder, and excitement in the unknown drove my interest in science. I have been interested in science for as long as I can remember (specifically anything involving dinosaurs). I have always been a collector of sorts, and due to that, basically since I could walk, I was always searching the ground or combing the shore for interesting things to take back home. Growing up on the coastal community of the Outer Banks, I would go out to find interesting rocks, bones, shells, and, if I were lucky, fossils all along the beach and take them back to my home to clean them up and organize them accordingly. I was, as many kids are, a “dinosaur kid.” I was absolutely fascinated by them growing up and just never grew out of it. Based on picture evidence, since the time I could develop interests, I was never found without a dinosaur toy (or two or maybe even a whole backpack…) or book in hand everywhere I went. I knew from an early age that I wanted to grow up to become a paleontologist specializing in dinosaurs. This became extra solidified when I saw my first dinosaur mount as a young child at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. I remember reading all of the plaques and looking at all of the specimens in their dinosaur section with it culminating in the glass dome encasing the Acrocanthosaurus frozen in time and thinking something along the lines of “yeah, this is exactly what I want to do” while looking up at the massive dinosaur in absolute awe. Now being involved with the lab at this same museum, it is a full circle moment for me that I don’t take for granted.
Honestly, those moments of curiosity and wonderment are some of my favorite parts about being a scientist. Being curious by asking questions about dinosaurs (and paleontology, in general) and answering them (attempting to, at least) through field work, data collecting and analyzing, and research always excites me. We are figuring things out about our incredible planet’s past, and it always astounds me how much we know and, at the same time, how much more there is for us to learn. Filling in those gaps is something that drives me in my research and desire to be a paleontologist. Also, communicating that knowledge to other people is something else I personally enjoy. It is always rewarding to see their curiosity and wonderment grow as you relay information to them about the past in engaging and understandable ways.
Enjoying a hike in McKittrick Canyon in the Guadalupe Mountains to look for Permian fossils with his classmates (not pictured) on the North Carolina State University’s Geology Fall Break trip.
What advice do you have for up-and-coming scientists? My first piece of advice for up-and-coming scientists would be to get involved in any way you can. Talk to your local museum about internships and volunteer opportunities that you could be a part of. There might even be a possibility to volunteer out in the field with other paleontologists too. This is a good way to figure out what you like and what you do not like. Sometimes, knowing what you don’t like can be just as valuable as knowing what you do like. If you find that you do not like certain aspects of paleontology, don’t get discouraged. For example, I know a few paleontologists who don’t consider themselves “field paleontologists”, and that is perfectly fine because there are other opportunities in this field that do not require them to go out into the field and they are still great scientists. If you find something that you really like, try getting a mentor or advisor that can further help you too. Getting good mentors are one of the best things you can do when you are first starting out.
Another piece of advice I have is to really dive into the available literature. This could include things like books, papers, articles, among other things. By delving into the literature, you can see what other paleontologist are doing and what sort of issues they are tackling. This can help you better understand the field of paleontology and to develop research questions of your own too. If you find something you are interested in and you want to know more, try reaching out to the authors. This is a good way to virtually network with other scientists in the field and, while it can be intimidating, the worst thing that can happen is that they do not respond. I also want to say to not get discouraged if something does not happen the way you planned or would have liked for it to go. Sometimes there are setbacks to your career plans, but there will always be more opportunities in the future!
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Hello, this is Aarya, a recent BS-MS graduate from IISER Mohali, India. I am originally from Pune, a city in India. At the age of 8, like every other kid from my school, I was sent to attend Kathak classes (which is one of the Indian classical dance forms). My status as a student of this dance form continues to this day, albeit with some off periods. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when I say that I love to dance and watch other dance performances including various dance forms other than Kathak. Apart from that, I once was an avid reader of the genre fiction/ fantasy with a mandatory ‘Harry Potter’ phase. I have also read multiple historical novels as well as fiction and biographies in my mother tongue, Marathi. These days I am trying to get back into reading, which unfortunately hasn’t had a high success rate. Nowadays, you can often find me watching some TV show, the occasional K-Drama and reality TV, or watching many movie review videos/ movie commentaries in my spare time.
Fieldwork at Hathnora, Madhya Pradesh, India.
What kind of scientist are you and what do you do? And what is your favorite part about being a scientist, and how did you get interested in science? As mentioned above, I have recently graduated from IISER Mohali with a degree in Biology. My journey into the field of palaeontology is a little interesting. As an undergraduate in my college, I did not have a clue about which subject I wanted to pursue as a student of science. After stumbling through a small project in astrophysics and contemplating a career in developmental biology while simultaneously going through a pandemic without any lab exposure, I came across a few courses on archaeology. I had always held a fascination for this field ever since a field trip to an archaeological museum (Deccan College Post Graduate University, Pune) in sixth grade. After attending these courses, I initially decided to pursue a thesis project in archaeology. But given my background in biology, I was encouraged by my guide to give the field of Paleontology a try. Therefore, I first stumbled into this field as a final-year student at my university.
My project was focused on a Proboscidean assemblage from the Narmada Valley in India. During this project, I learned how to extract fossils, how to prepare them, and how to document them. I also performed a taphonomic analysis on these fossils. This whole experience made me extremely intrigued about this field and the different questions that can be pursued through this. The sole fact that I was handling something that was present on this earth thousands of years ago and was being used to understand the past environments was fascinating enough for me to decide this field as my career. After my graduation, in an attempt to increase my exposure to palaeontology/ palaeobiology, I am doing an internship at the paleobiology lab at IISER Pune and working on molluscs and some marine mammal fossils. I eventually want to pursue a PhD in this field. I currently find myself interested in looking at the evolution of organisms through time and the different ecological drivers affecting this process but at the same time am looking forward to exploring many aspects of the field as I proceed further with my education.
Do you conduct outreach, and if so, who do you communicate science to? Outreach in this field is something that I would like to take a more active part in. As a university student, I was part of a student-initiated group which focused on some science outreach activities. As a part of these activities, we would go and teach Middle school students from surrounding migrant worker communities (this activity was in collaboration with another NGO called ‘Free Fragrance Tuitions’). We also held book donation drives for nearby government schools. I was also part of the display held by my lab (the Paleo-archeology lab at IISER Mohali) for the Foundation Day of our college. During this activity, we were able to display and give information about different vertebrate fossils to school kids belonging to different grades. I also worked as a junior editor for our college magazine, Manthan, I also wrote an article about a lake filled with human bones from Uttarakhand (Roopkund) in Marathi as part of the initiative to make the content of the magazine more accessible. Currently, I am trying to figure out any other possible avenues for outreach, specifically in this field. One day, I would really like to work on converting the content available about this field and various discoveries related to this field into different regional languages as this will make the field more approachable for many students from different regions.
During a teaching session for students at Free Fragrance Tuitions
What advice do you have for up and coming scientists? I don’t think I am in any position to be giving advice to anybody as I myself am an up-and-coming scientist. But I guess the one thing that I would like to say, at least based on my experience is that it is very rare that someone will know what they want to pursue as a scientist from the get-go. Most of the time, you will have to go through many trials and errors until something sticks. This period of discovery can often be challenging and a little depressing. Therefore, not getting discouraged is the biggest key to establishing yourself as someone who would like to pursue science for the rest of their lives. So let’s just work towards that together!
Image 1: Working on foraminifera means spending long hours sitting on microscope, basically microscope is your best friend.
Hey, I am Rinu Fathima, a second year Ph.D. student from National Institute of Oceanography, India. I am originally from Kerala, a beautiful coastal state in India and currently lives at Goa which is also along the coast. Lucky me. I am a dreamer, thinker, crazy about movies and love spending time reading novels or watching sunsets.
My research focuses on understanding past monsoon patterns using microfossils preserved in the ocean. Among the different microfossils that are present in the ocean I specifically make use of single celled, very beautiful, and extremely diverse organisms called foraminifera. Despite being so small the amount of information these organisms can share is huge. Both their shell morphology and composition tell a lot about the environmental conditions in which they lived. This aspect is used to understand past climate. I am particularly interested in a climatic event called mid-Pleistocene transition event that occurred between 1200 to 750 ka. Before this transition Earth’s glacial cycles followed obliquity dominated cyclicity and after this they changed to eccentricity dominated cycles. What caused this change in periodicity of glacial cycles is still a debated topic in the scientific community. I am very much excited about what results my research beholds about this mystery time interval.
Image 2: Even though these pictures look similar they are different species of planktic foraminifera. Identifying and characterising their eccology forms an important part of my research.
I cannot really recall myself wanting to be a scientist from a very young age. I was good in school which made me believe I should pursue science. Later, I enrolled for Bachelors in Geology. Even then, I was not very much aware of what I was stepping into. But things took a quick turn later. The field visits during the course, practical classes, workshops everything excited me. The best thing was getting to travel all around the country as a part of the field work. The science suddenly felt personal. Later I joined for my masters in Pondicherry University. This was a beautiful ocean facing campus, where I learnt the different research potential of geology and an interest in oceanography. When COVID struck I was preparing for exams to get into Ph.D. during which I read a lot of books on Oceanography. By the time I qualified my exam I was a hundred percent sure on the topic in which I wanted to do my research. Yes, you guessed it right, Oceanography.
Image 3: Vacaying and working; This is me last year onboard Sagar Kanya for collecting samples across North-eastern Arabian Sea.
I feel connected to my research because I think I can make an impact. Coming from an agrarian country that depends heavily on monsoon, I believe understanding monsoon is very important. To have better predictions and climate models the past studies with well-defined forcing/response and boundary condition information is very crucial.
I always felt that I should have joined the field and identified my passion a bit earlier, but I am really grateful that I found it even if a bit late. Right now, I feel like getting paid for doing something I love. My advice to anyone working in science will be to enjoy the process, that’s what I have been told by my supervisor and I have never been happier.
Image 4: Assisting students in the important of microfossils on international fossil day.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Hello, my name is Josh Abbatiello. I have a Bachelor’s of Science in geology and am currently a PhD. Candidate (geology as well) at the University of South Florida. I’m a huge fan of movies, – my favorite genre is horror (I don’t think I can pick a favorite, so be prepared for a long conversation if asked). I also love watching T.V. and anime. If I had to pick, Breaking Bad may be my favorite T.V. show and I can’t possibly pick a favorite anime. I’m an avid Sci-Fi and fantasy reader. Isaac Asimov is my all-time favorite author, and I am on a constant mission to collect all of his physical books. I’ve been a cat person my whole life and currently have two cats: a tortoiseshell named Reina and a black cat named Nefertiti. Since middle school, I’ve played trombone. I performed in the marching band throughout high school and college. I don’t play as much as I would like to. Being a band nerd has heavily influenced my music tastes. I love to listen to literally any kind of music. Due to having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), when listening to music, I tend to analyze different facets of the music (e.g., why people like it, time signature, and meaning of the lyrics). I have the tendency to do this with all forms of media. Thank you for reading and getting to know a little about me.
What kind of scientist are you and what do you do? In the broadest sense, I’m a biogeochemist. I use techniques of biology, geology, and chemistry to understand the element phosphorus. I study how phosphorus pertains to the origin of the earliest molecules billions of years ago and its immense importance to us today. I also relate that information to determining potential for life on other planets.
What is your favorite part about being a scientist, and how did you get interested in science? My favorite thing about being a scientist is getting to think about questions that we don’t know and working towards solving them as a scientific community. My path to getting interested in science came from a young age. My stepdad would rent the Carl Sagan (a famous astrobiologist who pioneered the field of exobiology) version of Cosmos on VHS from the library, and I became enamored with space. His ability to teach and connect to a wide audience in a way that inspired many including myself. I believe it’s important to be able to communicate with and inspire the next generations.
How does your work contribute to the betterment of society in general? I believe that working towards unanswered questions such as the origin of life betters society. This research provides a framework for possible environments of life on other planets, while providing a better understanding of how humans came to exist on Earth. I’m a part of the Scientist in every Florida school (SEFS) and Skype- a- Scientist programs where they give scientists the chance to reach students and hopefully inspire them to pursue a career in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (S.T.E.A.M). One of my goals is to encourage students with learning disabilities (like myself) that they can do anything neurotypical people can. Growing up, my mom didn’t really believe in diagnosing issues. As such, looking back after my adult diagnosis, I had all the hallmark signs of ADHD and unfortunately constantly heard “If you tried harder or applied yourself” comments from teachers and even siblings. These comments would send me into a spiral of depression and anxiety. Even so, with mental health treatment and gaining a support system in my adult life, I was able to work through my depression and anxiety. I’m soon going to be graduating with my PhD.
What advice do you have for up and coming scientists? As cliché as it sounds, you can do it. Persevere and don’t give up. The world of science is huge, and you can mix and match disciplines to match your interests, like how I have mixed biology, geology, and chemistry. Stay inquisitive and never stop learning. It’s never too late or early to pursue what you’re passionate about.
My name is Quinton Vitelli-Hawkins, and I am an adjunct instructor at the University of South Florida (USF). I received my Bachelor’s of Science in Geology and a minor in Astronomy in 2020 and my Master’s of Science in Geology in 2022 from USF.
I have always had a love for space. Initially, I wanted to be an aerospace engineer designing rockets that would take us back to the Moon and eventually to Mars. However, in my first semester at USF, I took a course called “History of Life” where I discovered the field of astrogeology and found my passion.
As an undergraduate, I worked in Dr. Matthew Pasek’s astrobiology lab with Chris Mehta, a former USF graduate student, on the ability of meteors to deliver organic compounds to Earth. I assisted in calculating the minimum velocity necessary for a carbonaceous asteroid to enter the atmosphere of the Earth. We discovered meteors only provide trace amounts of organic matter to the surface and other processes (i.e., hydrothermal vents) are most likely responsible for many of the organic constituents necessary for life on Earth.
I am synthesizing organic compounds using electric discharges in an environment simulating Earth’s primordial atmosphere.
My master’s thesis focused on ice deposits in lava tubes in west-central New Mexico as archives of past volcanic eruptions and climate change. Currently, the Southwest is experiencing a “megadrought” phase. My thesis had an important objective: is the current megadrought plaguing the Southwestern United States a result of anthropogenic (i.e., human) warming? To answer this question, I conducted field work at El Malpais National Monument in New Mexico where I extracted a 1.1 m long ice core from a lava tube. I then melted the ice and transported it to the USF geochemistry lab, where I conducted geochemical analytical techniques (stable isotopes, tracer elements) to unravel the Southwest’s paleoclimate. The ice also contained charcoal deposits from Ancestral Puebloans that used it as a source of drinking water during precolonial droughts. By examining past droughts and determining their possible causes, I am potentially able to learn how significant human factors may be causing the current megadrought. Trends in the Southwest’s paleoclimate record demonstrate that the Southwest should be undergoing a period of wetter conditions from stronger summer rains; however, the current megadrought suggests this is possibly being inhibited from occurring by anthropogenic effects. Furthermore, the ice in the lava tubes at El Malpais is rapidly depleting, making their examination a priority.
I am in a lava tube at El Malpais National Monument with my lab partner, Laura Calabrò (center), and national park service member, Laura Baumann (right).
I am also a member of the Scientist in Every Florida School (SEFS) Program in which every couple of weeks I speak with primary and secondary education students about what I do. I feel it is extremely important to make an impression on children in the American education system of the importance that science has in today’s world and help inspire them to pursue a career in STEM.
I am giving a presentation about my research to a class of 3rd graders.
I plan on pursuing a career in planetary science and eventually obtaining a PhD so I can work for a NASA research center or academic institution, and my ultimate goal is to be an astronaut.
When I am not working, I am most likely playing or watching hockey. I have been playing since before I can remember, and my favorite team is the Nashville Predators. Additionally, since I currently live in Florida, I have the privilege of seeing rocket launches. I typically take the perilous trek on I-4 from Tampa on the west coast to the Kennedy Space Center on the east coast at least once a month to catch one. Some of the memorable launches I have been to are the Space X Crew Demo-2, STS-133, Curiosity, and Artemis I.
In 2017, I began my academic journey majoring in Political Science and International Affairs at Florida State University. Throughout this time, I learned how ingrained politics is in every aspect of our society and how important it is to get involved in civic duties such as voting and researching legislation on major social and fiscal issues. A significant part of politics involves the country’s history as well, which was required curriculum taught by several courses including American History, Protests in America, European History, and International Affairs. These courses taught critical material about the oppression and discrimination that has shaped the legislation still in existence today targeting all minority groups living in the U.S. These courses helped to dismantle unconscious biases and stereotypes that help us become more educated voters in the future. My courses also focused on the processes of the U.S. government system, as well as how the U.S. interacts with other countries and global entities. This is especially important when it comes to global issues where it is crucial for all states, countries, and territories to work together. In this day and age, one of the most pressing and time-sensitive issues of all is climate change.
In Zion National Park.
In 2021, I decided to take my political science background and apply it to a master’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy at the University of South Florida. Above all, I realized that my passion has always been to protect and conserve the planet’s biodiversity and natural ecosystems. I knew how much policy determined either the protection or destruction of the environment, and I made it my goal to use my background to be on the side of preservation and restoration. Since then, I have begun my third semester of graduate school and have learned about environmental policy, conservation in urban environments, geology, remote sensing, and environmental ethics and philosophy.
This summer, I also had the opportunity to spend two months working with the Student Conservation Association in Yellowstone National Park. During my time there, I volunteered alongside a National Park Service conservation crew replacing a bridge with sustainable materials. The purpose of this is to ensure that people can appreciate nature in a safe way for both themselves and the wildlife and minimize impacts to areas outside of the trails. I plan to continue pursuing these opportunities that expand my knowledge on best practices for environmental policy and learning first-hand from the most experienced people in the field. These experiences have only augmented my appreciation for this field, and I hope to build a career in conservation in Florida upon graduation next May.
