Wit & Wisdom

Work-life balance: insights from geodynamicists

Iris van Zelst January 25, 2018

Don't we all have the same hobby in academia?
Credit: Classical Art Memes on Pinterest

Maintaining a good work-life balance is essential for a steady career and happy life in academia. However, like with all good things, it is not easy. In this new Wit & Wisdom post, Jessica Munch, PhD student at ETH Zürich, explores how to achieve a good work-life balance. Research is a truly amazing occupation, especially in geodynamics (okay, that might be a bit biased…). However, disre ...[Read More]

The fluid dynamics of wine

Iris van Zelst December 27, 2017

Cheers! Merry Christmas!
Credit: Max Pixel

The Christmas holidays: the one time of year that you don’t need to think about work. Instead, you are focussed on your family (including the in-laws), the massive amount of food still left (a miscalculation every year), and you’re starting to think about your New Year’s resolutions (because we give it a try every year, right?). So, this is definitely not the time to go and read ...[Read More]

Conferences – so near and yet so far

Iris van Zelst December 6, 2017

Everyone attending their own conference?
Credit: University of Haifa Younes & Soraya Nazarian Library

Attending conferences is expensive and time consuming, so going to all the conferences relevant for your research topic(s) is an impossible mission. One solution might be to attend (parts of) conferences remotely. Suzanne Atkins, postdoc at ETH Zürich, Switzerland, discusses the pros and cons of remote conferencing. Last month the Geological Society of London live-streamed their celebration of 50 ...[Read More]

The quest of a numerical modelling hero

Iris van Zelst November 15, 2017

Let's kill the ~~bugs~~ dragons and save the ~~code~~ princess!
Credit: Wikimedia commons: Saint George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello

Numerical modelling is not always a walk in the park. In fact, it resembles a heroic quest more often than not. In this month’s Wit & Wisdom post, Cedric Thieulot, assistant professor at the Mantle dynamics & theoretical geophysics group at Utrecht University in The Netherlands, tells the story of his heroic quest to save the princess from the dragon clear a code from bugs and shows ...[Read More]