Support for the 2020 Gordon Research Conference/Seminar on Rock Deformation: Combining Laboratory Measurements with Observational Constraints to Understand Tectonic Processes

University Of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA

Investigators

Abstract

The project provides travel and registration costs for graduate students and early career researchers to attend the 2020 Gordon Research Conference and Seminar on Rock Deformation. The conference will be held from August 8th to the 14th, 2020 at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. The Gordon Research Conferences and Seminars provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of frontier scientific research, and invited presentations will highlight the latest results in a context that looks towards future scientific avenues. The topics that will be the topic of this activity include cutting-edge presentations and discussions of a variety of topics pertaining to rock deformation, including lithospheric rheology from small-scale experiments, fundamental frictional processes, earthquake mechanics; fault slip in natural environments, lower crustal dynamics, mantle rheology, and shallow and deep subduction processes. The Gordon Research Conferences and Seminars provide a unique opportunity for early-career scientists to come together in a highly stimulating and non-intimidating environment to discuss current research and build networks that can lead to a lifetime of collaboration and scientific achievement. In addition, the project will contribute to broadening of participation of underrepresented groups in science, technology, and mathematics (STEM) through recruitment of participants from underrepresented groups. The Gordon Research Conference and associated Gordon Research Seminar will foster development of new research directions in rock deformation and will contribute to the development of a diverse and globally competitive STEM workforce. The conference program includes topics of societal relevance that bear on the understanding of geologic hazards, which is of benefit to society. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.