Ocean Sciences 2020 - San Diego
Julia Rulent
Bangor University
‘You should go present your results at a proper conference’ – words every PhD student hears at some point in their study, and easier said than done, especially if you are self-funded. This time, things turned out for the best!
I’m extremely grateful to the Challenger society for granting me the travel fund that allowed me to attend Ocean Sciences 2020 in San Diego, California. This was by far the greatest international conference I’ve ever attended so far. Not only that, but the travel award was an essential contribution for me to stay an extra week after the conference to work at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The first week in Ocean Sciences was an incredible experience. I arrived a day in advance and first dropped by the conference centre at night, out of curiosity. It took me a good twenty minutes to convince myself that the giant space-ship like, LED light loaded building in front of me was indeed the place where I was going to present. Absolutely terrifying, yet amazing.
Then the conference started, hectic and overwhelming as it should be. I spent the next five days running around sessions and posters, mostly between the ‘air-sea interaction’, the ‘near-shore processes’ and the ‘Extreme sea levels and coastal flooding’ sessions. I found that what I like the most of this conference though was being able to occasionally drop by sessions from a different field and learn new unexpected things. It is worth making the most of the plenaries and workshops as well.
I got the chance to meet many old and new friends, from my undergraduate, from previous field expeditions, and from the conference’s networking. All of them made the effort to get out of bed on the last day of conference to come to my presentation at 8:15 am. I hope it was worth their effort. From my part it was great to be able to share my results on that stage and get useful feedback on my research and presentation.
The following week in Scripps was just as good. I got the chance to work with experts in my field in one of the most renowned oceanography universities in world and see how research gets done in a completely different setting. It was incredibly instructive to go there and discuss the latest updates our research and set up bases for future collaboration.
I am originally from Italy and moved to UK for an Mdegree in Physical Oceanography at Bangor University, which included a year abroad in China. Now I am a PhD student registered in Bangor University but sitting at the National Oceanography Centre in Liverpool. My research deals with understanding the interaction between waves, tides and surges during extreme events and the conditions that can lead to high total water level at the UK coast using coupled wave-ocean-atmosphere numerical model.
I had an amazing experience presenting in Ocean Sciences 2020 and visiting Scripps. I learnt a lot that can improve my research!
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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