Thank you for joining me in my day of science! As a reminder, there is still time to join me in championing this cause to help support future generations of scientists by donating at my campaign page: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/science-a-thon-2018/elizabetherickson11/ Help EWSN (https://eswnonline.org) and this STEM-wise initiative to empower scientists, promote scientists as role models, and build on-ramps for students to engage in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)!

#dayofscience #scientistforaday #scienceathon #ESWN

#womenleadSTEM #womenwhoscience #womenofscience #500WS #distractinglysexy

#scientists #science #geology #earthscience

#schemerthedreamer #lifeinmotion

#scientistsarenormalhumans #thisiswhatIdoasascientist #youmightliketoknow

@500womensci @elementargroup @promega @transnetyx @johnsoncontrols @ncfdd @rochesequencing @ametsoc @madisoncommfdn @alliantenergy

Another undergraduate student I am mentoring is Charu Garapaty, UCSB 2nd year undergraduate who worked with me this summer as a Eureka! intern through the Center for Science and Engineering Partnerships (CSEP) at the California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI). Here she is learning how to use a drill press to sample whole-rock fused beads for chemical analysis using a quadrupole-based mass analyzer inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometer (ICP-Q-MS) for rapid, precise, and accurate trace element (<1000 ppm) measurements. ICP-Q-MS uses an inductively coupled Ar-gas plasma as an excitation source to ionize the sample and a quadrupole mass spectrometer as an analyzer to separate and selectively transmit sample ions of a single mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) to the detector. During this process, sample ions rapidly undergo large temperature (6000K to room temp.) and pressure (760 to 0.000001 torr) reductions before the detector (an electron multiplier) receives and amplifies the ion signal that is proportional to concentration, as determined through calibration with reference materials of known compositions. Basically, ions are systematically transferred from the plasma to the detector in a highly controlled electrostatic field within a dynamically increasing vacuum, enabling the quadrupole to scan through most of the periodic table with nearly interference free results of the sample ions in mere minutes.

Please join me in championing this cause to help support future generations of scientists by donating at my campaign page: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/science-a-thon-2018/elizabetherickson11/ You can also follow my “Day of Science” on Instagram @schemerthedreamer

#dayofscience #scientistforaday #scienceathon #ESWN

#womenleadSTEM #womenwhoscience #womenofscience #500WS #distractinglysexy

#scientists #science #geology #earthscience

#schemerthedreamer #lifeinmotion

#scientistsarenormalhumans #thisiswhatIdoasascientist #youmightliketoknow

@500womensci @elementargroup @promega @transnetyx @johnsoncontrols @ncfdd @rochesequencing @ametsoc @madisoncommfdn @alliantenergy

The larger petrology, geochronology, and tectonics research group at UCSB employs an array of field and lab-based techniques to elucidate the timing and duration of tectonic, geochemical, and geodynamic processes operating at scales ranging from the single crystal to the orogen scale. We are particularly interested in understanding the origin of mantle heterogeneities, the timescales and geochemical signature of crustal growth and recycling, and the structural evolution of orogenic systems. The facilities we have access to here include: Nu Instruments Plasma 3D multi-collector inductively coupled plasma (ICP) mass spectrometer (MS) with sixteen Faraday cups, 5 low-mass Daly detectors, and one high-mass Daly; Nu Instruments Plasma HR-ES multi-collector ICP-MS with twelve Faraday cups and four low-mass ion counters; Nu Instruments AttoM high-resolution single-collector ICP-MS; Agilent 7700x quadrupole ICP-MS, Cetac/Photon Machines 193 nm excimer G1 laser with HelEx cell; and Cetac/Photon Machines 193 nm excimer Analytye laser with HelEx cell; Cameca SX-100 electron microprobe with five WDS detectors, and EDS detector, and a CL detector; FEI Quanta 400f field-emission, environmental scanning electron microscope with and EBSD detector, BSE detector, SE detector, EDS detector, and CL detector; Finnigan MAT-261 thermal ionization mass spectrometer (TIMS). We also have the typical array of petrographic microscopes, cameras, thin-section scanning equipment, rock crushing and mineral separation facilities, and a clean lab.

Please join me in championing this cause to help support future generations of scientists by donating at my campaign page: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/science-a-thon-2018/elizabetherickson11/ You can also follow my “Day of Science” on Instagram @schemerthedreamer

#dayofscience #scientistforaday #scienceathon #ESWN

#womenleadSTEM #womenwhoscience #womenofscience #500WS #distractinglysexy

#scientists #science #geology #earthscience

#schemerthedreamer #lifeinmotion

#scientistsarenormalhumans #thisiswhatIdoasascientist #youmightliketoknow

@500womensci @elementargroup @promega @transnetyx @johnsoncontrols @ncfdd @rochesequencing @ametsoc @madisoncommfdn @alliantenergy

Like a regular human, I need to eat several times a day. Typically I sit outside for lunch to soak up some sun and take a brief mental vacation from the day. Today I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, grapefruit, rice crackers with humus, and a fresh cup of tea. I get a shorter lunch than usual today so that Murphy can have another walk.

Please join me in championing this cause to help support future generations of scientists by donating at my campaign page: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/science-a-thon-2018/elizabetherickson11/ You can also follow my “Day of Science” on Instagram @schemerthedreamer

#dayofscience #scientistforaday #scienceathon #ESWN

#womenleadSTEM #womenwhoscience #womenofscience #500WS #distractinglysexy

#scientists #science #geology #earthscience

#schemerthedreamer #lifeinmotion

#scientistsarenormalhumans #thisiswhatIdoasascientist #youmightliketoknow

@500womensci @elementargroup @promega @transnetyx @johnsoncontrols @ncfdd @rochesequencing @ametsoc @madisoncommfdn @alliantenergy

Last spring I passed my Qualifying Examination and advanced to candidacy, so the rest of my PhD will be spent finishing data collection and writing up my projects for publication. However, I still take time to promote opportunities for the scientists of tomorrow through mentoring undergraduate students. Today I am training Erin Solloway, a UCSB 3rd year undergraduate working with me to gain research experience, on the beginning steps for zircon mineral separation from igneous rocks, or rocks that form from cooling magma. Currently I am training her to turn a giant chunk of rock, that I collected during a 2016 field expedition to Antarctica, into sand-sized pieces by using an instrument called a Jaw Crusher. This involves crushing the rock between two steel plates at progressively smaller size fractions. Then the crushed sample is sieved so that the >355 micron (um) material is saved and returned to the sample bag and the <355 um material can be further separated in later steps. The end goal is to condense as much of the mineral zircon as possible for geochronological (i.e., dating the rock) and geochemical (i.e., determining characteristics about the magma the rock formed from) analyses.

Please join me in championing this cause to help support future generations of scientists by donating at my campaign page: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/science-a-thon-2018/elizabetherickson11/ You can also follow my “Day of Science” on Instagram @schemerthedreamer

#dayofscience #scientistforaday #scienceathon #ESWN

#womenleadSTEM #womenwhoscience #womenofscience #500WS #distractinglysexy

#scientists #science #geology #earthscience

#schemerthedreamer #lifeinmotion

#scientistsarenormalhumans #thisiswhatIdoasascientist #youmightliketoknow

@500womensci @elementargroup @promega @transnetyx @johnsoncontrols @ncfdd @rochesequencing @ametsoc @madisoncommfdn @alliantenergy

My research uses uranium and lead isotopes to put absolute dates on rocks, which can then be coupled with chemistry to explain how tectonic processes, like mountain building or formation of volcanic island arcs, occur. Research like mine is important because understanding the timing of events in Earth’s history is vital for predicting future events. Dating chondrites from space has told us that our solar system is 4.6 billion years old and has defined the elemental make up of our planet. Studying tectonic processes in Earth’s history has helped us understand how the continents and oceans formed, where ore deposits and other natural resources form, and how to predict natural geologic hazards. I am specifically studying the timing and geometry of subduction in Antarctica around 500 million years ago to give insight on a geologically under-sampled and poorly understood continent.

Please join me in championing this cause to help support future generations of scientists by donating at my campaign page: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/science-a-thon-2018/elizabetherickson11/ You can also follow my “Day of Science” on Instagram @schemerthedreamer

#dayofscience #scientistforaday #scienceathon

#womenleadSTEM #womenwhoscience #womenofscience #500WS #distractinglysexy

#scientists #science #geology #earthscience

#schemerthedreamer #lifeinmotion

#scientistsarenormalhumans #thisiswhatIdoasascientist #youmightliketoknow

@science_a_thon #ESWN @500womensci @elementargroup @promega @transnetyx @johnsoncontrols @ncfdd @rochesequencing @ametsoc @madisoncommfdn @alliantenergy

A little about me: I am studying in the Earth Science department under the tutelage of Dr. John Cottle. My current research is aimed at understanding the processes behind subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the East Antarctic craton approximately 500 million years ago. Similar to modern subduction along the coast of South America creating the Andes Mountains, subduction in Antarctica led to emplacement of igneous plutonic bodies that make up the Transantarctic Mountains exposed today. The paleo-Pacific margin was very extensive and long-lived. I am helping further define the tectonic history along that margin by researching how the timing and geometry of subduction changed along the margin through time.

Please join me in championing this cause to help support future generations of scientists by donating at my campaign page: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/science-a-thon-2018/elizabetherickson11/ You can also follow my “Day of Science” on Instagram @schemerthedreamer

#dayofscience #scientistforaday #scienceathon

#womenleadSTEM #womenwhoscience #womenofscience #500WS #distractinglysexy

#scientists #science #geology #earthscience

#schemerthedreamer #lifeinmotion

#scientistsarenormalhumans #thisiswhatIdoasascientist #youmightliketoknow

@science_a_thon #ESWN @500womensci @elementargroup @promega @transnetyx @johnsoncontrols @ncfdd @rochesequencing @ametsoc @madisoncommfdn @alliantenergy

I try to start work early, while the building is still quiet and I have the office to myself. I typically use this time to check emails, make an agenda for the day, and check off what I accomplished the previous day on my master “To Do” list. Pro Tip: Last year I started keeping a paper calendar to log the hours I work each day and what I accomplish each day. I find it extremely useful to see how much time I spend on activities like clerical work, course work, research, etc. Being able to break the cycle of spending all my time answering emails and doing side tasks for others has dramatically focused my work life. My work ethic has become more focused and efficient, and the calendar has become an important tool for quickly remembering when I worked on something last. It also helps keep me honest about doing work at work, and better separating my personal life from work life. Grad school is a constant balancing act of maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and keeping a work log has really helped me get more out of both spheres of life.

Please join me in championing this cause to help support future generations of scientists by donating at my campaign page: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/science-a-thon-2018/elizabetherickson11/ You can also follow my “Day of Science” on Instagram @schemerthedreamer

#dayofscience #scientistforaday #scienceathon

#womenleadSTEM #womenwhoscience #womenofscience #500WS #distractinglysexy

#scientists #science #geology #earthscience

#schemerthedreamer #lifeinmotion

#scientistsarenormalhumans #thisiswhatIdoasascientist #youmightliketoknow

@science_a_thon #ESWN @500womensci @elementargroup @promega @transnetyx @johnsoncontrols @ncfdd @rochesequencing @ametsoc @madisoncommfdn @alliantenergy

Sometimes I dog-sit for one of the Earth Science professors, Roberta Rudnick. I love waking up to a beautiful sunrise looking over Santa Barbara from the Santa Ynez foothills before taking Murphy on a quick 3 mile run along Mission Canyon. Murphy has a LOT of energy, so I try to tire him out early in the day.

Please join me in championing this cause to help support future generations of scientists by donating at my campaign page: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/science-a-thon-2018/elizabetherickson11/ You can also follow my “Day of Science” on Instagram @schemerthedreamer

#dayofscience #scientistforaday #scienceathon

#womenleadSTEM #womenwhoscience #womenofscience #500WS #distractinglysexy

#scientists #science #geology #earthscience

#schemerthedreamer #lifeinmotion

#scientistsarenormalhumans #thisiswhatIdoasascientist #youmightliketoknow

@science_a_thon #ESWN @500womensci @elementargroup @promega @transnetyx @johnsoncontrols @ncfdd @rochesequencing @ametsoc @madisoncommfdn @alliantenergy

Hello! Today I am participating in a science outreach event call Science-A-Thon. Science-A-Thon is a social media event to showcase the many different people and activities involved in science, as well as the largest annual fundraiser for the Earth Science Women’s Network (ESWN; link: https://eswnonline.org), an international organization supporting women in science. This year’s goal is to raise $75,000 for ESWN. Please join me in championing this cause to help support future generations of scientists by donating at my campaign page: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/science-a-thon-2018/elizabetherickson11/ You can also follow my “Day of Science” on Instagram @schemerthedreamer, on my blog (https://elizabeth-erickson.com/blog), and on Facebook. You can also follow the official Twitter feed @science_a_thon. Thank you for your support!

#dayofscience #scientistforaday #scienceathon

#womenleadSTEM #womenwhoscience #womenofscience #500WS #distractinglysexy

#scientists #science #geology #earthscience

#schemerthedreamer #lifeinmotion

#scientistsarenormalhumans #thisiswhatIdoasascientist #youmightliketoknow

@science_a_thon #ESWN @500womensci @elementargroup @promega @transnetyx @johnsoncontrols @ncfdd @rochesequencing @ametsoc @madisoncommfdn @alliantenergy