"Until I got to university, I didn’t know what area of science I wanted to specialise in, I just knew that I loved science," explains Nerilie Abram. "Earth science was my extra subject - but I quickly found out that it was exactly what I wanted to do. Discovering how the earth works is fascinating!"

I graduated at the bottom of the mid 1970’s mining boom and after a year of pushing to launch a career in geology, during which I worked on the 25th International Geological Congress in Sydney, and part-time for a geological exploration company in the Michelago area, I made the decision to try teaching.

At the Fall Annual Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in December 2012, David Simpson was one of three former staff and students of the School to be honoured for outstanding contributions to geophysical research and service.

One of the benefits of being a scientist is that sometimes you get to discover new things and if you’re lucky enough, you may even be able to get them named after you.

After my undergraduate degree in geology in Sydney I worked in the minerals industry for 3 years as an exploration geologist.

Paul Stenhouse, of The Australian National University, is looking for links between the twists and turns in the fractures and the amount of economic minerals deposited there by water.

During my PhD I am trying to get some insights into early life on Earth.