GD
Geodynamics

Katherine Villavicencio

Katherine Villavicencio is a geologist and an astrophysicist who has worked as a geophysicist performing modelling, interpretation and field work. Currently, she is doing a PhD in planetary sciences where she is carrying out a research on the hyperspectral analysis of the surface of Ganymede linked to a geodynamic model of the melt migration within the outer ice shell. Katherine is part of the GD blog team as an editor.

The hidden effects of academic excellence: workaholism in Academia

and September 17, 2025
The hidden effects of academic excellence: workaholism in Academia
Figure generated using VEED IA.

Years have passed since I started my academic career, and I have come to realise that, in academia, excellence appears to come with a price tag. Stress and pressure have become commonplace for academics, often normalising certain behaviours such as workaholism. This essay explores how workaholism have become a common practice in these working environments. It was late, the library lights were blin ...[Read More]

Balancing pregnancy, family, and a scientific career: a look at the challenges faced by women in STEAM

and May 14, 2025
Balancing pregnancy, family, and a scientific career: a look at the challenges faced by women in STEAM
Women in STEAM: Balancing research with raising a family. (Image generated by SEAART.IA)

In this week’s blog post, Dr. Katherine Villavicencio (University of Pisa) explores how women in STEAM navigate pregnancy and family life while advancing in their careers and examines the support (or lack thereof) provided by academic and research institutions. Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) careers are undoubtedly demanding. For women in these fields, juggling the ...[Read More]

Silent voices, trapped minds.

and February 12, 2025
Silent voices, trapped minds.
Recreation scene of the psychological thriller God’s Crooked Lines, with PhD students trapped by depression and suicide feelings. Image generated by PromeAI.

In this week’s blog post, Katherine Villavicencio (University of Chieti – Pescara) looks into the world of the mind and the mental-health issues that can result by the pressure behind a research project, such as a doctoral thesis. Here, through a personal reflexion ,she explores the main reasons that can lead candidates to suicidal thoughts, and even to the execution of them, finally a ...[Read More]

Dirty Poppy and the Research Tournament of Arcane Mysteries.

and November 13, 2024
Representative Cup for the winner of the Research Tournament of Arcane Mysteries. Figure generated by PromeAI.
Representative Cup for the winner of the Research Tournament of Arcane Mysteries. Figure generated by PromeAI.

In this week’s post, Dr. Katherine Villavicencio (University G. d’Annunzio, Italy) looks into the flaws of the academic system that enables abusive supervisors to hold excessive power.  In the form of a wizardly tale, she sheds light on the negative experiences of students subjected to the oppressive control of this kind of supervisors. In an alternate universe, the magical world is governed by ac ...[Read More]