Science and Sunshine at EGU in Vienna
Peter Sheehan
UEA
I had been to EGU before – in 2017 – so I was prepared for the sheer size of the meeting: the boards around the conference centre counting up the presentations as the week wore or, eventually settling on almost 10,000. But I think it must be a sign of having been in science for that bit longer now, of starting to find my way that bit more confidently, that I seemed to keep bumping into people I know – and, because I’m in the final year of my PhD, asking them for a job.
My presentation this year is PICO: a two-minute, quick-fire introduction to your work delivered to an assembled audience, followed by an interactive slideshow presentation delivered one-to-one, or to a small group, much like a traditional poster pitch. The key difference is that, thanks to the judicious use of hyperlinks and the like in the interactive slideshow, you can skip back and forth between slides and figures, focussing only on what attendees are interested in. I confess: I was initially sceptical. The PICO was not a format of presentation I have tried before and, from hanging around a couple of last year’s presentations, I remained to be convinced. I was, in fact, wrong. PICOs are a fantastic innovation that combine the best features of both traditional poster and oral presentations. You talk to each attendee about only the things they are interested in, so potentially they get more detail than they would from an oral while spending less time sitting through material that isn’t of interest. And the two-minute introductions eliminate my least favourite of conference rituals: hanging around awkwardly at someone’s poster, skim reading to see if you’re interested while at the same time seeming sufficiently non-committal that you can plausibly skip away if it turns out there’s not much there for you. People know what you’re work is about and they know whom they want to talk to from the get go.
The second novelty of this year’s conference was being a co-convenor for a session. I arrive first thing, bright-eyed and clutching a coffee, to have the microphone thrust into my hand: “Off you go: convene!” It looks like I’m chairing the first part of the session. I am all of a sudden acutely aware of the optics, in this heady age of Brexit-related antagonism, that a British national mangling names in languages other than English would not look particularly good. I submit to repeated study of the names on the list, muttering them under my breath and hoping that no-one’s paying me too much attention. In the end, I flatter myself that I manage OK – at least, I don’t notice any funny glances, and no-one upbraids me afterwards. I head off into the hills over Vienna for what I hope is a well-earned glass of wine…
I benefitted greatly from my participation in EGU, and I am grateful to the Challenger Society for helping to fund my trip.
Profile
I am in the fourth and final year of my PhD at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, where I do research on the long- and short-term variability of the Fair Isle Current, one of the most important inflows of Atlantic water into the North Sea. I use data from CTD profiles and from Seagliders, so optimal interpolation onto a common grid has become a big part of my life. My project is jointly supervised by Marine Scotland, so I have spent a lot of time in sunny Aberdeen.
Latest News
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