Lithosphere and mantle dynamics workshop in Hungary
Authored by Betti Hegyi. Edited by Derek Neuharth.
One of the greatest parts about being a researcher is going to conferences and meeting our fellow researchers! The 2022 Ada Lovelace Workshop on Numerical Modelling of Mantle and Lithosphere Dynamicswas held from the 28th of August to the 2nd of September in Hévíz, a beautiful town in Hungary that is famous for Lake Hévíz, the world’s second largest thermal lake. The workshop was named after Ada Lovelace, a 19th century English writer and mathematician who was also the daughter of Lord Byron.
The workshop has been held every 2 years since 1987, and this year more than 150 people attended the workshop either online or in-person. This included more than 70 master’s and PhD students presenting their research to the geodynamics community.
During the 5-day workshop the topics of lithosphere and mantle dynamics were discussed from many ASPECTs, including Global Dynamics, Exoplanets, Rheology, Crust and Litosphere and Numerical Advances. All sessions started with two or three keynote talks, then everyone had a chance to give a 2-minute PICO talk to advertise their posters and research. The poster sessions were amazing, we barely knew where to go or who to talk to! Fortunately, we all had fruitful and interesting discussions about our research, which we are grateful for. It was wonderful to see so many early career scientists being interested in a wide range of topics and helping each other with insightful questions.
One afternoon was dedicated to a geological/scenic excursion. The trip was led by a Hungarian structural geologist who taught us about the geology and geodynamics of the Pannonian Basin, and showed us some Miocene volcanic rocks. We also visited the ruins of the Szigliget castle where the view, from the castle top to the volcanos of the Bakony-Balaton Highland, was amazing. After the geology part was over, a wine tasting was scheduled. We were lucky enough to taste some of the best white wines made around Hévíz.
There is a long-lasting and important tradition during these types of workshops: karaoke night. Many songs were sung by the talented wannabe singers from the Geodynamics community, although the world is better off if most of us continue pursuing a career in science rather than in music. The only thing I missed from the karaoke night is that Julia didn’t sing us any songs from ELVIS.
The final night there was a gala dinner. At this dinner, the winners of the outstanding student poster award were announced, as well as the winner of the best karaoke performance! Congrats to all!
The next day, morning came too early and we had to leave Hévíz to catch our flights and trains. But overall, we all parted ways with happy memories, and new ideas for our research.
The next workshop will be held in 2024, in Montpellier, France. See you all there!