Month: October 2019

Last week Australia welcomed the largest gathering of vertebrate palaeontologists (an “assemblage” of palaeontologists according to Prof. Flint) that Australia has ever seen* at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) meeting. The 79th annual meeting was held for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in Queensland, Australia.

SVP was founded in 1940 and has over 2000 members from across the globe representing all manner of people interested in vertebrate palaeontology. It was a week filled with workshops, talks, poster sessions, social events, field trips and more.

Prof. Mike Archer from UNSW opened the proceedings with a talk entitled “Life, Sex, Songs, Scrat and the Sponge: Australia’s Guinness Book of Evolutionary Records” at the University of Queensland on Tuesday, and on Wednesday we were treated to a special Welcome Reception held at the Queensland Museum. The Awards Banquet dinner was held on Saturday night with a surprise guest appearance from Prof. Flint singing his new song all about Mary Anning.

As always these events are an unmissable opportunity to hear about the hugely varied questions, fossils and approaches that people apply to palaeontology, and also to catch up with colleagues from near and afar. The Flinders Palaeo Lab was represented in force with about 25 past and present members in attendance.

Thanks to the organisers and the host committee for such a truly inspiring and interesting week. Looking forward to 2020 in Cincinnati!

*As far as I know

Well, what a big week it has been! Last Friday we held the inaugural BLiSS*Adelaide one day symposium for EMCR’s (Early/Mid Career Researcher). I’m proud to say that I was Co-Chair (Head of Operations) as part of the of the Steering Committee that organised this inspiring event. Our committee, lead by BLiSS* founder, Dr fLo Cotel, and BLiSS*Adelaide Chair, Dr Sanam Mustafa, worked hard for 18 months to bring this event to life.

We kicked off the day with a keynote address from the Chief Scientist for SA, Prof Caroline McMillen, followed by three themed sessions. However, the day ran a little differently to most scientific conferences; the speakers from each session worked together beforehand to weave their presentations into a narrative that explored a general broad theme (Fundamentals in Life, Sustainable Earth, Innovative Futures), rather than present the specifics of their current project. This enabled spirited and inspiring discussions to flow throughout the day.

In the afternoon we invited a panel of experts to discuss “Pathways to Innovation Translation” followed by a networking event. We couldn’t have done it without the generous support of our many sponsors, and it was great to see so many local facilities come down on the day. It’s amazing to learn what exists in your own backyard that you’ve never even heard of!

We really hoped to inspire some interdisciplinary collaborations in the EMCR’s of Adelaide, tomorrow’s leaders in research. So, a generous $3000 collaboration prize is up for grabs for any two researchers who met on the day and can show evidence of their new partnership in 6 months time (in addition to the many other prizes awarded on the day).

I was fascinated by the range of topics covered in the talks and posters last Friday, and I look forward to seeing how BLiSS*Adelaide continues to grow into the future. Thanks to all members of the Steering Committee and everyone who made it down on the day!

BLiSS* out, peeps!

BLiSS*Adelaide Steering Committee 2019 (Photo: Catherine Leo Photography)