Geosciences Seminar Series

The School of Geosciences hosts three regular seminar series:

Geo.talks 2012

The Geo.talks series comprises of fortnightly research presentations by staff and students within the School, as well as by eminent visiting scholars. Talks are normally held at 11pm on Wednesdays in the Madsen Conference Room (Rm 449, Madsen Building), and are nominally 30-40 minutes in length followed by discussions. Geo.talks provides an opportunity to share research being performed in the disciplines of geography, geology and geophysics. In-depth analysis of specific research programs is common, although speakers are also encouraged to present the broader societal and public policy relevance of their research through the series to appeal to the diverse interests contained within the School of Geosciences. Senior Postgraduate students are particularly encouraged to present advanced research findings as part of the series.

Date  Speaker/s Title Location Time
8 February Yingjie Yang Ambient noise surface wave tomography - acquisition & applications Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449

11-12pm

2 March Derek Fairhead An integrated plate tectonics, stratigraphy, gravity and magnetic study of the Muglad basin, Sudan, with emphasis on early opening of the South Atlantic Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
11 April John Alroy

Paleobiology Database

Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
20 April  Dr Gideon Rosenbaum (UQ) The New England Oroclines: Fact or Myth? Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
9 May

Stefan Sobolev

Modeling global plate dynamics and collision in Tibet Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
23 May  Laura Alisic Geodynamic modeling with Rhea Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
30 May A/Prof Gavin Birch  Sabbatical talk Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
6 June Dr Thomas Landgrebe Fracture zone intersections with subduction zones and significant earthquakes Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
20 June Madeline Kobler and Robyn Gardner Continental affinity of Batavia and Gulden Draak Knoll in the Perth Abyssal Plain Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
4 July Prof Murray-Wallace (UoW) Neotectonism of southern Australia in the Quaternary Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm

Click here to view the archive of 2010 GEO.talks.

Southeast Asian Seminar Series

The Australian Mekong Resource Centre (AMRC) Southeast Asian seminar series, is run in conjunction with the Chair of Southeast Asian Studies in the Faculty of Arts. It is held fortnightly at 12:30pm on Thursdays in the Madsen Conference Room (Rm 449, Madsen Building), with speakers from the AMRC and the wider community and is designed to bring together those with interests in Mekong Region environment and development issues. If you would like to be on the mailing list for this seminar series, please email

Please click here for a list of Southeast Asian seminars in 2011.

The EarthByte Talks

Date  Speaker/s Title Location Time
18 January Dr Simon Williams Indian Ocean Cruise summary Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449

11-12pm

25 January Maral Hosseinpour SGTSG conference practice talk Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
22 February Kevin Hill

Eastern Australia petroleum prospects

Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
7 March Nathaniel Butterworth PhD research update Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
21 March

Michael Rubey

PhD research update Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
28 March Nick and Jonathan

Nick: Kinematic models, vertical motions and sedimentary response around Australia's passive margins.

Jonathan: Dynamic Topography in Continental Rift basin evolution: A Global and Australian perspective

Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
4 April Ben Dickinson Porphyry deposits and the subduction of hotspot trails along western North and South America

Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
2 May Jack Healy Honours Talk Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
16 May Gemma Roberts PhD Proposal Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
31 May Marie and Cecile Metamorphic sole complexes in numerical models Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
13 June Kara Matthews 100 Ma global plate reorganization event Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
27 June Dr Maria Seton New Jurassic-present sea-level curve Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
11 July Ana Gibbons Indian Ocean plate tectonic reconstructions Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
25 July Kara Matthews, Sabin Zahirovic IGC Practice Talks Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm
28 November Dr Thomas Landgrebe Opals and data mining Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 11-12pm

Thinking Space: Human Geography Seminar Series 2012

These sessions explore current issues and debates in human geography and the social sciences through presentations about key thinkers, cross-cutting themes, skills, methodologies, and current postgraduate research. All welcome!

All sessions take place on Wednesdays 4:00 pm in the Madsen Conference Room (Rm 449). Presentations will normally take up 30-45 minutes, leaving plenty of time for comments and discussion. Most of the sessions will be recorded and distributed to those interested.

For more information, or if you want to be included on the mailing list, please email

Date Speaker(s) Title Location Time
1 August Kurt Iveson Big Thinkers: Lefebvre Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 4-5pm
8 August Bill Pritchard Big Thinkers: Amartya Sen Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 4-5pm
15 August Kathie Gibson (UWS) Guest Seminar: Gibson-Graham Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 4-5pm
22 August Bob Fisher Big Thinkers: Elinor Ostrom Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 4-5pm
29 August John Connell Writing good journal articles Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 4-5pm
5 September Philip McManus Human-animal geographies Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 4-5pm
12 September Josephine Gillespie Law and Geography Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 4-5pm
19 September Jeffrey Neilson Global value chain framework and
development strategies
Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 4-5pm
26 September - Mid-semester break - -
3 October Philip Hirsch Writing about land Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 4-5pm
10 October Mark Vicol/Rafiuddin Palinrungi Postgrad presentations #1: Value chains
and livelihoods in India/Global Value Chain
and the role of state in Indonesian cocoa industry
Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 4-5pm
17 October Michael Valli/Worawan Sukraroek Postgrad presentations #2: The geographic interpretation of water trading in the Murray-Darling Basin/- Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 4-5pm
24 October Chetan Choitani/Leonardo Valenzuela Postgrad presentations #3 Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 4-5pm
31 October Erin Smith/Lada Phadungkiati Postgrad presentations #4: Property rights for water/- Madsen Conference Room, Rm 449 4-5pm