Meeting of Young Researchers in the Earth Sciences MYRES: A Conference Series and Community Development Initiative

William Marsh Rice University, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

Lee EAR-0352803 This grant will allow the establishment of a biennial conference series, the "Meeting of Young Researchers in the Earth Sciences (MYRES)", that will gather junior scientists in geochemistry, geodynamics, mineral physics, seismology, and other related Solid Earth fields. The primary aim of MYRES (www.myres.org) is to further science by accelerating the growth of an interdisciplinary, international, open, and unbiased community of colleagues that can interact regularly to informally exchange ideas, data, and tools, and to formulate new collaborative research projects. The focus of each MYRES meeting will be the overview and discussion of a major outstanding problem from the Solid Earth Sciences. This award will support the first MYRES meeting, to take place in August 2004, on the following subject: "Heat, Helium, Hotspots, and Whole Mantle Convection". It is expected that the primary broader impact of this activity will be to bring together early-career specialists that can educate each other about the specific issues each discipline can address, and thus, allow a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of the constraints different disciplines can provide to a specific problem. MYRES also plans to implement new ways to educate across disciplinary boundaries and to evaluate these innovative procedures to ensure the success of the educational aspect of these meetings. The long-range goal of the larger MYRES initiative, which also entails a wide range of planned online resources, is to establish a framework for unhindered, international scientific cooperation. Such community-building efforts are expected not only to have a substantial educational impact among this new generation of scientists but also help improve the overall effectiveness of research in the Earth Sciences.