19 February 2008
Brief update
Posted by Jessica Ball
Apologies for the lack of posting…being flattened by the latest bug wasn’t what I had planned for this week. Fortunately, I managed to spend a productive weekend working with my undergrad advisor on the paper we’re hoping to publish before I head off to grad school.
Thursday I’m flying to Seattle for the first of my grad school visits. I made sure to get a window seat on the plane – though I can’t remember which side – and I’ll hopefully be able to get some good photos while I’m flying across the country.
And, of course, I’m looking forward to seeing the Cascades for the first time. Lahar hazards aside, I think it’s very cool that Mount Rainier is visible from the city – what volcanologist wouldn’t want to wake up to that kind of view? (I’m probably going to end up with a few dozen shots of Rainier on the camera by the end of the trip, but hey, that’s what 1GB memory cards are for.)
Jessica Ball is a volcanologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, researching volcanic hydrothermal systems and stability, and doing science communication for the California Volcano Observatory. She previously worked at the Geological Society of America's Washington DC Policy Office, learning about the intersection of Earth science and legislative affairs. Her Mendenhall postdoc and PhD focused on how water affects the stability of volcanoes, and involved both field investigations and numerical modeling applications. Her blogging covers a range of topics, from her experiences in academic geosciences to science outreach and communication to her field and lab work in volcanology.
“being flattened by the latest bug wasn’t what I had planned for this week”Guh, you too?! That thing has systematically taken out the music department here, and I’m just hoping I’m not the one who ends up spreading it to the geology building. I figure it’ll get there inevitabally, but getting the admissions people sick is not a way to appeal to them for funding! Very much not cool that this thing is on the east coast too.I hope you’re feeling better soon, especially since you’re travelling!