ESE October Newsletter

ESE researchers on a fieldtrip in Trinidad

An overview of the recent publications, events and exciting work that's been happening in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering.

Contents

Publications
Conferences, Talks, Lectures, Seminars
Awards
Media and Impact
Research Activity
Alumni Activities
New Staff

Publications

Lodhia, B.H., Roberts, G.G., Fraser, A.J., Jarvis, J., Newton, R., Cowan, R. (2019) Observation and simulation of solid sedimentary flux: Example from Northwest Africa, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, DOI: 10.1029/2018GC007891.  

Mackay, I., Videla, A.R., & Brito-Parada, P. R. (2019). The link between particle size and froth stability - Implications for reprocessing of flotation tailings. Journal of Cleaner Production, 242, 118436. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118436

Conferences, Talks, Lectures, Seminars

Two papers co-authored by Satinder Purewal were presented at the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) in Calgary, held between 30^th September - 2^nd October. News of their presentation has been uploaded on the UNECE website. 

Jay Bullen recently gave a talk entitled 'High frequency water monitoring for developing countries' at the Department for International Development, UK Government.

Ben Simon attended the “South-East Regional Electrochemistry Conference” (SE-lectrochem 2019), where PhD students from different universities in the South East (England) presented their work in the fields of “batterie”, “fuel cells”, “electrocatalysis”, and “mixed electrochemistries”. Ben gave a poster presentation outlining his research, which was awarded a Faraday Poster Prize. This prize was awarded to two presenters who demonstrated the Faraday Institution values.

Bhavik Lodhia presented a poster summarising his recently published paper at the 19^th PESGB Africa Exploration & Production Conference in London, which took place between 1^st -2^nd October.

Awards

Professor Martin Blunt has been elected as a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Emeritus Professor Philip Allen has been awarded the prestigious Twenhofel Medal for 2020 by the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM). The Twenhofel Medal is awarded annually to one person for their "outstanding contributions to sedimentary geology".

Jonathan Tan has been awarded the Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year in the ESE Department. The award is presented annually to one PhD student who demonstrated excellence in their teaching.

Media and Impact

Mellisa Gray’s recent publication on full waveform inversion has been mentioned on the Imperial College website as well as the New Zealand Herald.

Research Activity

ESE researchers held a very successful final workshop of the NERC-funded large grant on Volatile Recycling in the Lesser Antilles Arc (VoiLA) between 23^rd - 27^th September in Trinidad. 

This project started about 4 years ago and has been led by Saskia Goes and Jenny Collier. A large number of researchers have been involved in the project, including: Jamie Wilkinson, three PDRAs: Ben Maunder, Richard Davy, Stephen Hicks, and a PhD student: Rob Allen. The above mentioned ESE researchers worked alongside colleagues from Durham, Southampton, Bristol, Liverpool and Leeds, and partners from the Antilles, France, Germany and the US. Several MSci students have also worked on the project, and a number of Imperial College PhD students have helped out on the research cruise to collect seismic data.

The workshop was attended by about 50 scientists from the region and around the world and included discussions about the tectonics, the magmatism and seismic activity of the Antilles Arc and how this activity may be affected by variations in the amount volatiles being subducted along different segments of the arc. The attendees also went on a field trip led by AAPG Trinidad and Tobago to a recent earthquake damage zone, an active mud volcano and the largest asphalt deposit in the world, Pitch lake. More information on the workshop and the project can be found on the project's website.

Alumni Activities

ESE Alumni, His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Al Rumhy (BEng 1980, PhD, DIC 1990 in Petroleum Engineering),  Minister of Oil and Gas of Sultanate of Oman and Dr. Xudong Jing (PhD, DIC 1990 in Petroleum Engineering), General Manager Shell Technology Oman and Visiting Professor in the ESE department, had a weekend event in September at the beautiful Al Mouj Golf Club in Muscat.

While enjoying the game of golf in the Oman summer (only a cool 35°C on the day!), the two friends and colleagues exchanged news and talked about the latest developments from the college and the John S Archer Scholarship awarded in the ESE department. They also discussed the idea to set up an Imperial College alumni association in Sultanate of Oman.   

New Staff

Dr Frederick Richards started on 7^th October as an Imperial College Research Fellow with Dr Gareth Roberts.