Luka Nie, recipient Student Conference Grant

"The conference was primarily an opportunity for me to present my thesis research in the form of a poster. I have designed the poster, presented it in the Hydrogeology Meeting that is held biweekly on Friday morning, adjusted it based on the feedback I received and had it printed at Geodesk. It displays the problem description (a schematic overview and map of the study area), methodology (the pictures in the two middle panels show two examples), a new methodology (this methodology serves as a new tool for interpreting temperature data) and results (log scaled plot of the hydraulic conductivities). A QR-code is included that will redirect the user to the abstract."

"The session I got selected for is called: innovative methods and new advances for understanding subsurface processes that couple fluid dynamics, solute transport, geochemical reactions and biological activity. I attended the morning oral sessions and the afternoon on-site poster session, in which I participated myself."

"I had a lot of fun and pride in presenting my own research. Every time a person
approached me, I could experiment with explaining it based on their questions
and interests. I also got suggestions: e.g. collecting temperature data while
the aquifer is abstracted for more data, and tips on numerical modelling.
Standing with a poster is very accessible for people walking by; I had not a
single moment of silence. Also, by doing so, I met people with similar research
topics and interests, with whom I exchanged contact (LinkedIn, Instagram, phone
numbers, etc.). Combined with the oral presentations of the same session in the
morning, a whole new world opened up to me about subsurface processes and
strategies to understand them. I definitely did not feel alone in my research."

"The rest of the week I attended other oral sessions, poster sessions and great debates, which were inspiring and important. To name a few examples:

• BG1.2: Fire in the Earth system: understanding effects across spatiotemporal scales (poster session). I stumbled into this poster session. I was intrigued by a poster about stalagmites created by groundwater flowing through Karst material which serves as a record for fire frequency in the last 250 years (Liza McDonough) and it aligns with my plan to study Earth, Life & Climate next year.
• HS8.2.6: Integrating understanding across the land-ocean continuum: multidisciplinary approaches to studying saltwater intrusion and submarine groundwater discharge (oral session). Salinization is a complex interplay between ocean, land, climate and humans. It has important implications for the health of the ecosystems on land. I learned that it is indeed very complex, as I could hardly follow the physical models that were used to understand salinization processes.
• GDB4: Scientific Neocolonialism: tools and mechanism to advocate and amplify the voices, knowledge and recognition of local knowledge in geoscience research (debate). This session definitely opened my eyes on the importance of scientific self-awareness, specifically the ethical framework from which you operate as a Western scientist. As someone already interested in ethics, I agreed with the suggestion brought up by a man in the audience that ethics courses should be a mandatory part in the bachelor of science to ensure this awareness."

"The EGU23 was a great success in my experience, and I want to give my heartfelt thanks the Student Conference Grant and my supervisor Victor Bense for making this possible! I hope others will have the same chance to experience a science conference."