In this blog, Gabriel looks back at his time at Imperial and explains how the ACSE MSc programme helped shape his academic career.
Did you know that most of the material delivered to Earth from space comes in the form of microscopic “cosmic dust”? These tiny extra-terrestrial particles exist everywhere in the solar system – from small grains in the asteroid belt, to spacedust in the zodiacal cloud (a faint glow that can be seen from Earth at night), and even in the icy rings of Saturn.
A single speck of cosmic dust could record evidence of large-scale astrophysical events like nearby rocky collisions, so how do scientists interrogate these tiny time capsules? In this blog, ESE PhD student, Isabelle S. Mattia explores the wonderous world of space dust further…
Banusha Kugabalan is a PhD candidate at the Department of Earth Science and Engineering (ESE) at Imperial. Her work revolves around stress signals in rocks, that occur after ‘shock events’ (like meteorite impacts and earthquakes) causing the magnetic minerals in rocks to align with the magnetic field and record the stress field.
Researchers like Banusha can study magnetic signatures to learn about past impacts and earthquakes on Earth and other planets.
In this ESE blog post, Mark tells us more about what inspired him to pursue his PhD and shares his hopes for the potential of his research.
I study the tiny to understand the huge – micro-sized, spherical dust grains (including extra-terrestrial material called micrometeorites) that hold clues about planetary and environmental processes.
In this ESE blog post, Amelie takes us on a journey through her academic journey so far, sharing her motivations, advice, and insights into her experience as a planetary scientist on the frontier of discovery.
I explore ancient environments on Mars by analysing sedimentary deposits using rovers and satellites.
This Scholarship has been offered by ESE for nine consecutive years and provides financial aid to help students who demonstrate exceptional academic merit and/or potential continue with their studies, and support equality, diversity, and inclusion by helping these students get on a path to success.
In this interview, we find out more about Sandra’s experience at Imperial so far, her career journey, what led her to the MSc in Metals and Energy Finance, and her advice for students thinking of applying for the course next year.
She was awarded the Women in Mining UK scholarship for Women in Metals and Energy Finance in 2021, and she is currently working as an Analyst at Resource Capital Funds. In this blog post, we find out more about Mandy’s experience at Imperial, and how it helped her in her career journey.
He seeks to understand ancient and modern geological environments on the red planet – to uncover when and how quickly the climate in Mars ‘dried out’, leading it to become ‘hyperarid’. His research also focuses on different arid environments on Earth, how climate change is affecting them, and how these can be used as an analogue for other planets.
Joel is involved in several ongoing and upcoming space missions for NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), including NASA’s Curiosity rover, the HiRISE and CaSSIS instruments – two high-resolution cameras, 400 km above the surface of Mars. He is also a Co-Investigator for the PanCam instrument on the ESA’s upcoming ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission.
In this blog post, Joel tells us more about himself, his research interests and why he decided to join ESE.
She specialises in sustainable subsurface energy storage, CO2 geological storage, and machine learning for scientific computing. In this blog post, we explore Gege’s interests and find out more about what led her to Imperial.
Fieldtrips are a cornerstone in geology pedagogy. Traditionally, studying a degree in Earth Science involves travelling to different locations, often abroad, to study rocks and landscapes first-hand.
“Outdoor fieldtrips give students the chance to examine rocks, landscapes and structures first-hand—cementing the textbook concepts we study in class,” says Dr Valentin Laurent, Senior Teaching Fellow in Pedagogic Transformation at the Department of Earth Science and Engineering (ESE) at Imperial.
But, while exciting and inspiring, fieldwork can also pose risks, be expensive, and present a significant barrier for students with disabilities or health issues. As Dr Valentin Laurent explains, using virtual reality (VR) can remove some accessibility barriers, while also taking fieldwork to a whole new level.