Emma is currently a 4th year Earth Science student and Tanzania 2015 will be her first expedition with the university. Emma has always had an interest in how the Earth works which lead her to choose Earth Science as her degree. As part of her course she studied igneous geology, the volcanology aspect of which she found most engaging and the opportunity to study the ‘world’s strangest volcano’ is one she couldn’t ignore. Throughout her time at university Emma has gained experience in fieldwork, including a 21 day independent mapping project on the Isle of Skye. It is an area of study she greatly enjoys and she is excited about the opportunity to gain further experience in Tanzania. While at school Emma took part in Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, which involved camping and hiking in the Mourne Mountains. This was a challenge she enjoyed and gained a lot of experience from and is excited about taking on the much bigger challenge of Ol Doinyo Lengai. As the expedition to Tanzania will be her first, she is incredibly excited about the opportunity to study such a unique area, and expand her knowledge of geology, specifically volcanology.

 

Within the expedition team Emma has been given two roles. The role of Editor involves the editing of any outreach videos, including educational and video blogs. This aspect of media is a skill she has always wanted to develop and she believes it will be a very important part of the expedition. Editing the risk assessment and prospectus is also part of the role and one that is essential for collating and presenting the key information about the expedition. Having a good dynamic within the team is extremely important, and as Social Secretary, Emma must organise events at which the team can bond and get to know one another. Emma also has a role within the science outreach aspect of the expedition, and as a STEM ambassador, educational outreach is something she feels is very important. She is looking forward to the chance to inform other people about the unique research that will be carried out by the team.