This project supports the participation of U.S. based early career scientists in the biannual Gordon Research Conference on Experimental Rock Deformation and the associated Gordon Research Seminar. The conference assembles national and international researchers who study the behavior of rocks and minerals under various stress, pressure, and temperature conditions in the laboratory in order to understand deformation of the Earth's crust and mantle. The conference focuses on cutting-edge topics that include fault zone structure, processes, and behavior with particular emphasis on earthquake mechanisms. Other session focus on the detailed mechanisms of fracture and flow of Earth materials, the storage and transport properties of hydrocarbon and CO2 reservoirs, and the implications experimental studies may have in the understanding of other planets. The associated seminar provides graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and early career researchers opportunity for professional development and focused discussions about their research. Through support of early career scientists and students, the project contributes to the development of STEM workforce and also supports full participation of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM.
This project provides funding for travel and registration support to U.S. based early-career professionals and students to attend the Gordon Research Conference "Evolving Rock Structure: From Grain-Scale to Planet-Scale", which will be held in Andover, NH from August 17-22, 2014. The Rock Deformation conference series highlights the latest research and future trends in brittle and ductile rock mechanics, with experimental, field and theoretical contributions. Central themes for the conference include: 1) fault anatomy, fault strength, transient slip, and fluid pressure evolution during the earthquake cycle; 2) hydration and grain size evolution of ductile shear zones and their implications for plate dynamics; 3) fast developing X-ray imaging technologies, which revolutionize experimental rock deformation research by allowing, for the first time, the quantification of evolving microstructures and pore distributions in a deforming rock to reveal fundamental hydro-chemo-thermo-mechanical couplings; 4) the potentials and risks associated with shale gas extraction and geological carbon dioxide sequestration; 5) the relevance of rock deformation research for planetary exploration. The project also supports the inaugural Rock Deformation Gordon Research Seminar to be held August 16-17 in conjunction with the Rock Deformation Gordon Research Conference. The seminar, designed for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and other scientists with comparable levels of experience and education, focuses on the mechanisms and implications of rock deformation with an emphasis on 1) processes that operate on multiple time and length scales, facilitating extrapolation from laboratory to Earth, and 2) difficulties and progress in elucidating the mechanics of compositionally complex systems.
The Gordon Research Conference on ROCK DEFORMATION was held at Proctor Academy, Andover, NH, August 17-22nd, 2014. The Conference was well-attended with 153 participants (attendees list attached). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, senior researchers, young investigators, and students. Of the 153 attendees, 63 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 63 respondents, 14% were Minorities – 2% Hispanic, 10% Asian and 2% African American. Approximately 35% of the participants at the 2014 meeting were women. The Gordon Research Seminar on ROCK DEFORMATION was held at Proctor Academy, Andover, NH, August 16-17th, 2014. The Conference was well-attended with 60 participants (attendees list attached). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, senior researchers, young investigators, and students. Of the 60 attendees, 18 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 18 respondents, 11% were Minorities – 0% Hispanic, 11% Asian and 0% African American. Approximately 40% of the participants at the 2014 meeting were women. In designing the formal speakers program, emphasis was placed on current unpublished research and discussion of the future target areas in this field. There was a conscious effort to stimulate lively discussion about the key issues in the field today. Time for formal presentations was limited in the interest of group discussions. In order that more scientists could communicate their most recent results, poster presentation time was scheduled. Attached is a copy of the formal schedule and speaker program and the poster program. In addition to these formal interactions, "free time" was scheduled to allow informal discussions. Such discussions are fostering new collaborations and joint efforts in the field.
