Biennial Challenger Conference: Liverpool
Mike Carter-Gates
University of Southamptn/Marine Biological Association
I would like to thank the Challenger Society for Marine Science for granting me a travel award to attend the 17th Biennial Challenger Conference held in Liverpool. The conference took place on 5th-9th September 2016 and was jointly hosted by the University of Liverpool, John Moores University and Nation Oceanography Centre. Attending the conference to present my poster on ‘An “Omics” Approach to Ecosystem Robustness’ was both an interesting and valuable experience, which would not have been possible without the support from the Challenger Society.
The Biennial Challenger Conference brings together predominantly early career scientists from all fields of marine research, spanning Ecology, Physical Oceanography and Biogeochemistry to name but a few. As such it represented the ideal forum to discuss my work to date and plans for the future of my project with peers at a similar stage in their career. The feedback I received was friendly and helpful, with novel insights and approaches suggested thanks to the diversity of the fields that the conference brings together. These discussions, which were aided by coffee and the evening drinks receptions at the poster presentations, have already helped in formulating some new research ideas which will feed into the next stage of my PhD over the coming months.
This diversity was also reflected in the broad range of Social events scheduled throughout the conference. These ranged from focus groups tackling topics such as the current barriers facing early career scientists to the conference dinner held at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. These events presented a great opportunity to meet fellow marine scientists and really helped to encourage discussion, which spilled over to outside the conference as we spent a couple of nice evenings exploring the city and enjoying some excellent food at local restaurants.
Throughout the conference the talks spanned a broad range of topics and were well managed, allowing you to drop in and out of sessions to cherry pick the talks which really peaked your interest. While all keynote talks were engaging and entertaining, my personal highlight was that of Professor Tim Lenton on ‘Early Warning of Climate Tipping Points’ and has prompted me to explore this topic further.
It was a great conference which has added value to my PhD and I would like to reiterate my thanks to the Society for the opportunity.
Profile:
I am a PhD student at the University of Southampton, currently based at the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth. My research focuses on exploring the diversity of marine arctic protists using molecular techniques to make comparisons with temperate community structures and predictions of changes to community structures under environmental change.
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Marine Data Management, Governance and the MEDIN toolset
The Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) and OceanWise are delighted to invite you to attend our popular free online training workshop: ‘Marine Data Management, Governance and the MEDIN toolset’ on the 19th – 23rd of May 2025.
Workshop on the contribution of UK Arctic Ocean science to the International Polar Year 32/33
12:00 11th June – 16:00 12th June 2025: NOC Southampton (In-person with online option): Registration deadline 16th May
REGISTER HERE
Pre-meeting questionnaire (open to all)
The purpose of this workshop is for the UK Ocean Science community to discuss and then draft a prospectus document outlining the priority Arctic research questions the community would like to address during the run up to, throughout and beyond the International Polar Year 32/33. Additionally, to identify what unique strengths and technologies the UK has to help fill these knowledge gaps.
The second day of the workshop will be dedicated to writing groups, one for each of the priority research questions identified - from both the pre-meeting questionnaire (HERE) and day one discussion. By the end of the meeting, each group will have produced draft text and sourced supporting figures for the prospectus.
Post meeting, the draft will be opened for comments and suggestions from everyone, regardless of whether they were able to attend the workshop or not. It will then be shared with UK funders (UKRI, FCDO, DSIT, ARIA) and potential international programmes with whom we would like to collaborate (e.g. Arctic 2050, Norway). It will form a basis from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities can be built, e.g. at the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September in Northumbria.
To ensure balanced community and ECR representation, and to ensure that the size of the writing groups is efficient and effective, if the number of registrations from individual institutes becomes overwhelming, we may contact individuals or teams and ask that each institute selects a smaller number of individuals to attend in-person. Please wait for confirmation of in-person attendance before finalising travel arrangements.
The workshop will be open to hybrid attendance and contributions on both days.
Challenger Society Council Position Vacancy
The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to support the next generation of ocean scientists and innovators. CSMS are looking for a new Council member to fill the Student Travel Awards and Stepping Stones Portfolio. The successful applicant will administer the travel and research grants available for Early Career Researchers.
The role involves:
- Receiving applications for the two schemes and responding to applicant inquiries
- Soliciting and compiling input from the rest of the Council for assessing the applications
- Communicating with successful and unsuccessful applicants for the two schemes
- Working with the Honorary Treasurer on allocating funds to successful applicants
- Following up with award winners on their reporting requirements
- Attending Council meetings four times a year (in person or online) and contributing to discussions and decision making for CSMS
The usual term for Council members is three years.
For more information about the CSMS Council, please follow this link: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/The_Council
For more information about our Early Career Researcher grants and awards, please follow this link:
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Stepping_Stones
and
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Travel_awards
If you are interested in applying or have any questions regarding the role, please contact kathen@bas.ac.uk