... it's starting ... my Ph.D.

    So I am here and you could think that I came here with an idea of what I wanted to do, and you are right since at least I had a vague idea of what I wanted to work with and with whom.  It is somehow strange because my background is all in deformation and GPS monitoring, and here I am thinking about my research in volcanic plumes and remote sensing.  However, I believe that was the best decision because I feel I need to grow as a volcanologist and I am sure this is the perfect place to acquire the experience necessary to become a more complete volcanologist.

    After my arrival, I immediately met with one of my professors, Dr. Matt Watson, to talk about research ideas, because I am very interested in the projects he does.  So, he gave me and advised me on articles to read to get some initial understanding of the different problems.  It was a little scary at first, since this is completely new to me, but as I started to get a feeling for the different topics it started to make sense.

Soufriere Hills dome on October 1997

... the classes and AGU...

    Another important part of starting a research is the course work, especially when there are so many things to learn.  It was very clear that I was taking the course in Volcanology, but not anything else.  So, after consulting with my professors I decided to take Natural Hazards, the Remote Sensing Seminar, and Introduction to Atmospheric Physics.  Ten credits in my first semester here is pretty scary, but I was very optimistic.  Atmospheric Physics has turned out to be a very difficult course, and with a lot of work.  However, it is helping me increadibly, to understand concepts of atmospheric science I never even thought about in the past.  I hope I can get all my course work finished without much difficulty.

    On the first week of classes we were informed that we are attending the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting on December 9-14.  I will be presenting the results of my MS research and I am very much looking forward to it.  It is one of the biggest most important geoscience meetings in the world, and it is a great opportunity to meet people, especially volcanologists, make connections for future research, and find out what kind of research is being currently done.

My Ph.D. research

More on my Ph.D. first semester...