Profile
Elena Maters
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About Me:
I’m a volcanologist who loves Earth and space science, travelling and experiencing new cultures, baking cakes and cookies, and binge-watching a good Netflix series!
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I like to try different things which is probably why I took such a curvy path to get where I am now – studying biology in Canada, environmental science in the UK, volcanology/geochemistry in Belgium, and atmospheric science in France and the UK! I recently moved to Cambridge for a three-year research project on volcanic ash and sulphur in the atmosphere. When I’m not working I like a chill day just watching films or reading a good book, accompanied by tea and biscuits or a curry and cider. I often travel to visit friends and family in different cities and countries, since I mostly grew up in Canada but I also lived throughout Europe during my university studies. I love spending time in nature walking in forests, hiking up mountains (especially volcanoes!), and exploring caves, especially when I want to clear my mind.
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Most of my work involves using laboratory experiments to test how volcanic ash behaves under conditions similar to those it might face while in the air. My current focus is trying to understand how ash particles play a role in chemical reactions in the atmosphere and ice formation in clouds. I do experiments with ash samples that have been collected from volcanic eruptions all around the world. This allows us to get an idea of how the impacts of an eruption on the environment might change depending on the volcano. Once I have enough experimental data, I try to understand the results and make a conclusion, which I eventually write about in the form of a scientific article. Articles are a key way for researchers to share their findings with the wider scientific community. About once a year I present my findings at a scientific conference, which brings hundreds to thousands of international researchers together to share and discuss, and usually lasts for a few days. I can certainly say I’m never bored at work!
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My Typical Day:
No day is typical – it depends on how I want to spend it. I might perform experiments with volcanic ash in the laboratory, other times I think and write about my results while sitting at my desk, and occasionally I travel to talk about my work with other scientists around the world. I also sometimes visit other universities (like Ludwig-Maximilians University in Germany) to use special laboratory instruments that are not available at my home university.
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On a day in the lab, I might expose ash to gases like sulphur dioxide, and then measure how much of the gas attaches to the ash surface. On another day, I might cool down droplets of ash in water to below zero degrees Celsius, and record how many of the droplets freeze at which temperatures. I’m the image of a scientist while wearing my white lab coat and plastic safety goggles! Outside of the lab, I work at my desk planning my experiments, organising and interpreting my results, and reading and writing scientific articles. I share an office with PhD students and other postdoctoral researchers like myself (who have finished their PhD and earned the ‘doctor’ title). This makes it easy to share knowledge and ideas about our work, which are all unique but also overlap in interesting ways.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
During my next field trip I would like to visit local schools to tell students about volcanic hazards and using instruments like balloons and drones to monitor and collect ash and gases. This will help our research to have a positive impact in vulnerable communities affected by volcanic activity.