
by the SZ4Grads Executive Committee
Jun 28, 2024
Connecting Early Career Researchers in Subduction Zone Science
SZ4Grads has had a busy spring connecting early-career subduction zone scientists through webinars, workshops, and more!
Webinar Series
The Spring 2024 SZ4Grads webinar series was a great success, bringing together early career researchers from around the world to share their innovative research in various fields related to subduction zone. This series, held from February 29 to April 25, 2024, featured eight webinars with presenters from academic institutions in the USA, China, Germany, and France. The series covered a broad range of topics, including geophysics, seismology, geodynamics, geochemistry, and volcanology.
Each week, attendees had the opportunity to hear from and engage with distinguished speakers. Talks included:
Dr. Xiaozhuo Wei, postdoctoral researcher in Seismology from California Institute of Technology, presented "Ambient Noise Cross-Correlation Study on the Island of Hawaii Promoted by the 2018 Kilauea Eruption: from Vertical Velocity Discontinuities to Lateral Velocity Variations".
Rebecca Filde, postdoctoral researcher in Geodynamics and Geophysics from University of California-Davis, presented "Linking Timescales of Subducting Slab Deformation: Investigating Deep Earthquake Occurrence Through Numerical Subduction Modeling”.
Aqeel Abbas, PhD student in Seismology from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, presented "Evaluating and Correcting Short-Term Clock Drift in Data from Temporary Seismic Deployments".
Wasja Bloch, postdoctoral researcher in Seismology from German Geoscience Center, Potsdam, presented "A Cascadia Slab Model from Receiver Functions".
Guanning Pang, postdoctoral researcher in Seismology from Cornell University, presented "Focusing Effects of Teleseismic Wavefields by the Subducting Plate: Evidence for Continuous Juan de Fuca Slab"
Abigail Metcalfe, postdoctoral researcher in Volcanology and Geochemistry from Université Clermont Auvergne, presented "A Review of the Lesser Antilles Arc: What Can We Learn from Magma Storage, Magma Composition and the Implications on Eruptive Style across the Arc? "
Yurong Zhang, PhD student in Seismology from Michigan State University, presented "P-wave Attenuation Structure and Melting Processes of the Tonga-Lau Mantle Wedge".
Walid Ben Mansour, assistant research scientist in Seismology, Geodynamics, and Geochemistry from Washington University in Saint Louis, presented "Multi-Scale, Finite Frequency Body Wave Tomography of Southern Patagonia with Relative Kernels".
The webinar series attracted a diverse international audience, with attendees from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, India, Italy, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Peru, Sweden, UK, and USA. Each talk has between 50-100 registered participants, with actual attendance ranging from 20-40 individuals per webinar. Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive. Additionally, all the talks were recorded and are available for viewing on the SZ4D YouTube channel, allowing for extended access and engagement with the presented research. The SZ4Grads webinar series continues to be a valuable platform for showcasing groundbreaking research, facilitating scientific discussions, and fostering global collaboration among early career researchers in subduction zone science.
🎙️ Are you interested in becoming our next webinar keynote speaker? Contact us
Networking Lunch at SSA
SZ4Grads welcomed 28 graduate students and post-docs to an SZ4D-sponsored luncheon at the Seismological Society of America (SSA) Annual Meeting in Anchorage, AK in early May. The enthusiasm in the room was palpable as attendees discussed their research and shared their wisdom for navigating the early stages of their scientific journey. SZ4Grads looks forward to seeing these friendly faces at future conferences and workshops!

Empowering Early Career Researchers
SZ4Grads had a strong presence at the Workshop on Mantle Magma Supply and Imaging held at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University from June 2-5. SZ4D sponsored the participation of SZ4Grads Executive Committee Members to organize a pre-workshop focusing on Early Career Researchers. The event consisted of lightning talks, tutorials, interactive exercises, and a networking dinner. This ECR Event was attended by 30 ECRs, including post-docs and graduate students, many of whom were new recruits to SZ4Grads. The ECR Event provided post-docs and graduate students a space to connect with one another and familiarize with the broader workshop goals, allowing them to more confidently participate in breakout discussions and activities during the main workshop. Overall, the workshop was a great success!

