NanoPaleoMagnetism

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We are pleased to announce the availability of three fully funded PhD positions within the NPM group for 2014. The three projects are flexible in their scope, but are expected to focus on the following key aspects of the NPM project: 1) Rock magnetic studies of bulk samples using FORC diagrams, the development of methods for the quantitative analysis and simulation of FORC diagrams, and the application of FORC data to non-heating paleointensity studies; 2) application of transmission electron microscopy and electron holography to the study of magnetic properties at the nanometre scale; 3) application of X-ray imaging methods to study natural paleomagnetic signals at high spatial resolution. For more information download the ERC Studentship Description. For information on how to apply, go to the Earth System Science Doctoral Training Partnership (ESS-DTP) page. A direct link to the three ERC studentships page can be found here. Please contact Richard Harrison if you would like more information or to discuss the projects.

The nanopaleomagnetism group will be hosting this year’s annual get together of the UK paleo/geo/archeo/rock/mineral magnetism community. The meeting will take place in St. Catharine’s College on the 8th and 9th of January. Head over to the meeting page to find out details and submit an abstract! The meeting is a great opportunity for students of all kinds (undergrads, masters, PhD) to present their work in a friendly environment, and for the whole community to get together and talk about future directions and collaborations.

Much excitement this week as Lakeshore engineer Cosmin Radu arrives to start the installation of our PMC VSM/AGM system. This is the first instrument to be built 100% by Lakeshore since their acquisition of Princeton Measurement Corp. After a stirling effort by the Department’s technicians and support staff (thanks Chris, Charlie, Andrew and Martin) the old TEM lab was cleared out, re-painted and re-floored, with the water and power supplies coming online just in time for the installation to begin. With a bit of heavy lifting, the guts of the instrument are now in place and starting to be assembled. With any luck we should be obtaining our first hysteresis loops in the next day or two. We’ll keep you posted!