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Markus Loher
Report of GLOMAR PhD student Markus Loher about his participation in the Natural Gas Hydrate Systems Gordon Research Conference in Galveston, Texas, USA from 28 February – 4 March 2016
1. The conference structure and personal benefits
The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) – Natural Gas Hydrate Systems was held from February 28 to March 4, 2016 in Galveston, Texas (USA) and was coupled to a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) which took place two days prior to the GRC (February 27 to 28, 2016). It is warmly recommended that all participants stay at the hotel where the conference is taking place. This way, a large part of social interaction can take place during mealtimes and in the free time during the afternoon.
My personal benefits of participation at the GRS and GRC included discussions about my work with leading experts and scientists whose papers I have been reading in the context of my PhD. The GRC provided the opportunity to become part of an expert science community all highly interested in each other’s work and focussed on expanding the knowledge on gas hydrates. Presentations and posters were of high scientific quality and presented novel ideas or unpublished data.
The GRS is a forum for graduate students, post-docs, and other scientists with comparable levels of experience and education to present their work in the form of a poster or a talk. In this case there were 55 participants to the GRS and the atmosphere during discussion rounds after talks or at the poster sessions was very familiar and encouraging. Session topics covered a wide range of talks, scheduled for 15 minutes with 5 minutes of discussion. During the two days, two poster sessions of 1.5 hours were held.
The main GRC conference is organised in the same structure for every day: three 35 minutes talks (+ 15 minutes discussion) in the morning, followed by lunch and an extended break, a two hour poster session before dinner and two talks after dinner. These timeframes allowed for extended discussions to develop after each presenter and encouraged exchange and networking during the afternoon breaks.
The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) – Natural Gas Hydrate Systems was held from February 28 to March 4, 2016 in Galveston, Texas (USA) and was coupled to a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) which took place two days prior to the GRC (February 27 to 28, 2016). It is warmly recommended that all participants stay at the hotel where the conference is taking place. This way, a large part of social interaction can take place during mealtimes and in the free time during the afternoon.
My personal benefits of participation at the GRS and GRC included discussions about my work with leading experts and scientists whose papers I have been reading in the context of my PhD. The GRC provided the opportunity to become part of an expert science community all highly interested in each other’s work and focussed on expanding the knowledge on gas hydrates. Presentations and posters were of high scientific quality and presented novel ideas or unpublished data.
The GRS is a forum for graduate students, post-docs, and other scientists with comparable levels of experience and education to present their work in the form of a poster or a talk. In this case there were 55 participants to the GRS and the atmosphere during discussion rounds after talks or at the poster sessions was very familiar and encouraging. Session topics covered a wide range of talks, scheduled for 15 minutes with 5 minutes of discussion. During the two days, two poster sessions of 1.5 hours were held.
The main GRC conference is organised in the same structure for every day: three 35 minutes talks (+ 15 minutes discussion) in the morning, followed by lunch and an extended break, a two hour poster session before dinner and two talks after dinner. These timeframes allowed for extended discussions to develop after each presenter and encouraged exchange and networking during the afternoon breaks.
2. My contributions to the GRS and GRC
During the GRS, I presented a talk entitled "Gas Hydrates Fueling Methane Seepage at Venere Mud Volcano in the Calabrian Arc" which was also the title of my accompanying poster during the GRC. As participant of the GRS, my poster was left exhibited for the whole week. More senior scientists participating in the GRC only exhibited their poster during two allocated days.
In addition, the GRS organisers selected three “Young Investigator Presentations” form the submitted abstracts to present their work in a 10 minute talk (+ 5 minutes discussion) during one session of the GRC on Thursday morning. My abstract had been selected and I was given the opportunity to present my work in a talk during the main GRC conference.
During the GRS, I presented a talk entitled "Gas Hydrates Fueling Methane Seepage at Venere Mud Volcano in the Calabrian Arc" which was also the title of my accompanying poster during the GRC. As participant of the GRS, my poster was left exhibited for the whole week. More senior scientists participating in the GRC only exhibited their poster during two allocated days.
In addition, the GRS organisers selected three “Young Investigator Presentations” form the submitted abstracts to present their work in a 10 minute talk (+ 5 minutes discussion) during one session of the GRC on Thursday morning. My abstract had been selected and I was given the opportunity to present my work in a talk during the main GRC conference.
3. Personal experiences from the conference
A personal highlight was the selection as a speaker for one of the “Young Investigator Presentations” during the main GRC conference. Presenting my work in front of the leading experts in the field of hydrocarbon seepage and gas hydrates and receiving critical feedback was a very encouraging experience for me. Several people who shared comments and discussions related to my presented work invited me to contact them for specific input after the conference.
Several topical sessions during the GRC introduced me to previously unknown fields of research in relation to gas hydrates. Even though some of the presented work required a lot of background knowledge, insight into these new fields and problems was fascinating. From topics more closely related to my own work I learned a lot about gas hydrates in general but also about the latest research questions or problems which other people are investigating.
Further, I now feel much more familiar with the work and scope of the larger community focussing on gas and gas hydrates. The extended lunch breaks also gave opportunities to exchange ideas with peers and newly found colleagues on a very personal level providing me with a sense of tapping into a larger network of interdisciplinary fields and researchers. Contacts with people I had the chance to meet and engage with actively, will certainly prove beneficial in the future.
In summary, I can state that the GRS and GRC were valuable for several specific aspects of my presented work. However, equally important was the engagement with fellow researchers and becoming part of the overarching network and community driving gas hydrate research forward in the upcoming years.
A personal highlight was the selection as a speaker for one of the “Young Investigator Presentations” during the main GRC conference. Presenting my work in front of the leading experts in the field of hydrocarbon seepage and gas hydrates and receiving critical feedback was a very encouraging experience for me. Several people who shared comments and discussions related to my presented work invited me to contact them for specific input after the conference.
Several topical sessions during the GRC introduced me to previously unknown fields of research in relation to gas hydrates. Even though some of the presented work required a lot of background knowledge, insight into these new fields and problems was fascinating. From topics more closely related to my own work I learned a lot about gas hydrates in general but also about the latest research questions or problems which other people are investigating.
Further, I now feel much more familiar with the work and scope of the larger community focussing on gas and gas hydrates. The extended lunch breaks also gave opportunities to exchange ideas with peers and newly found colleagues on a very personal level providing me with a sense of tapping into a larger network of interdisciplinary fields and researchers. Contacts with people I had the chance to meet and engage with actively, will certainly prove beneficial in the future.
In summary, I can state that the GRS and GRC were valuable for several specific aspects of my presented work. However, equally important was the engagement with fellow researchers and becoming part of the overarching network and community driving gas hydrate research forward in the upcoming years.
I am holding my poster in front of the Hotel Galvez, Galveston, Texas where the GRS and GRC took place. At GRCs no photos are allowed inside the conference areas.