A STORY ABOUT GRC 2024
Authored by Alena Abila.
Last August, three members of our research group—Venice, Leif, and I—attended the 2024 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Rock Deformation, which had the theme “Capturing Timescales of Rock Deformation.” I also participated in the preceding Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Rock Deformation, titled “A Multi-Disciplined Approach to Exploring Rock Deformation Across Diverse Geological Settings and Scales.”
The GRC and GRS are international conferences targeting specific subfields, where researchers have the opportunity to share ongoing and unpublished research, network with colleagues, and engage deeply with the scientific community over five to seven days. This year, the conference was held at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Participants stayed on campus and shared meals for the entire event—essentially “locking us all together” for a focused and immersive experience. Unfortunately, I can’t go into too much detail about the science we discussed, as the GRC has strict rules against sharing conference proceedings publicly.
Bottom: A boudinaged quartz vein hosted in metasediments (phyllites).
The two-day GRS is designed specifically for early-career researchers, such as doctoral students and postdocs. It was a fantastic platform to engage with other ECSs, providing ample opportunities to exchange ideas and discuss research challenges. The main GRC, in contrast, brings together senior scientists who present their work in multiple sessions throughout the day, followed by poster sessions in the evening. It was an amazing experience to see so many prominent figures in our field and to be able to engage in extended discussions with them during the poster sessions or even over shared meals—something that’s not as easily done at larger conferences.
On the last evening of our stay, I learned that GRC has a lobster dinner tradition (they have chicken and veggie options as well), which was really good! They even provided a slip of paper with instructions for how to take it apart!
Overall, it was my best conference experience to date, and I highly recommend attending!