Second year Master of Science (Geology) student Alex Coleman, has been awarded a prestigious Geological Society of London/Nuffield Foundation Undergraduate Research Bursary.
The bursary will enable him to work with Dr. Ian Harding during the summer vacation period, undertaking a 6-week investigation of the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, a period of rapid global warming that took place some 55 million years ago.
Alex will be involved in the collection and analysis of samples from both East Anglia and a core drilled in Arctic Spitsbergen, and will be involved in investigating the organic-walled microfossils, stable carbon isotope record and palaeomagnetic polarity signals preserved within these two sedimentary successions.
Alex says: “This amazing opportunity to be involved in an academic research project during the summer vacation will provide me with invaluable field and laboratory experience for my future studies in micropalaeontology. The bursary will also help me to make a more informed decision about what I choose as the subject for my fourth year Research Project, as well as providing an insight into possible future careers in academia and the hydrocarbon industry. I never imagined I would have such a great experience, especially so early on in my degree programme, and I can’t wait to get started!"
