Dr. Sara Polanco

Universities have lost their way, but cost-cutting and consultants are not the answer

Last week in Sydney, we saw a melodrama acted out that could stand in for the state of Australian universities more generally.

Pure poetry Beneath ocean floorFossil roots sleep in old soilWhispers of past land Geoscientist Sara Polanco penned this exquisite poem, a haiku, to describe a core that recently arrived on deck of the L/B ROB…

When science meets poetry 🌎📜

New blog entry from #Expedition501 ➡️ expedition501.wordpress.com/2025/07/14/p...

📷Yakutchik@ECORD_IODP3_NSF
#ECORDScienceOperator #NewEngland #ScientificOceanDrilling #OceanScience

#Picoftheday
Another day of work aboard the L/B Robert for #Expedition501.
In the photo, Rachel Bell and Alize Longeau collect a sample from a core at Hole M0113A, while Graham Tulloch observes.🌎

📷 LeBer@ECORD_IODP3_NSF

#Oceanlove #ECORDScienceOperator #NewEngland #ScientificOceanDrilling

#clipoftheday 📹 Sunrise on L/B Robert during IODP³-NSF Expedition 501 🌅

Footage: LeBer@ECORD_IODP3_NSF

#Oceanlove #ECORDScienceOperator #NewEngland #ScientificOceanDrilling

Andrew McIntyre, Adam Wspanialy and Graham Tulloch discuss logging and drilling strategies while Raushan Arnhardt and Margaret Stewart prepare for X501 team transfers.
📷LEBER@ECORD_IODP3_NSF
#IODP3NSF #Exp501 #ECORDScienceOperator #NewEngland #ScientificOceanDrilling #PicOfTheDay

Another view of the SCIMPI expedition!

#SCIMPI #marinetech

Learn more about the SCIMPI sensor being deployed on #Expedition501 Almost in our backyard 😉 (Transcend is headquartered in Vermont, but we think we can feel the ocean breeze from here.) #oceanresearch #hydrogeology

Ever wondered how the crew gets from the transfer vessel to the expedition vessel? Hang on!

More about Expedition 501 where SCIMPI (Simple Cabled Instrument for Measuring Parameters In-Situ) is being deployed. SCIMPI is a CORK alternative, notable for being a significantly less expensive, yet full featured option.

YouTube video by ECORD_IODP IODP³-NSF Exp 501: Our home for the expedition

Great drone shots and overview of the #IODP3NSF #EXP501 mission, currently off the Massachusetts coast. SCIMPI has accomplished its first deployment of this expedition 🙌 THANK YOU to the great team on the L/B Robert –@ecord.bsky.social keep those great sunsets and sunrises coming!

🧠💥 In a facultatively social bee, brain development is determined by caste role - not group living.

It’s not about living together, it’s about what you do! 🐝👑 #BeeScience #Neurobiology #SocialInsects

www.frontiersin.org/journals/eco...

UK IODP Newsletter 2025 Issue 4 April

Our April Newsletter is out now. Learn about Expedition 501 - the first of IODP3, this joint endeavour with NSF sets sail tomorrow!

@ecord.bsky.social @anzic.bsky.social

issuu.com/uk-iodp/docs...

It’s great to see M@TE out in the world!

mate.science has been years in the making to make numerical models more accessible.
Huge thanks to everyone who has helped make M@TE possible!
@benmather.info

@louis.moresi.info

@auscope.bsky.social

‘It’s very lonely’: what are Australia’s university students missing out on? | Australian universities | The Guardian Many start their studies hoping to find friends, themselves and intellectual stimulation. More and more are finding they’ve been sold something else

Even more misleading reporting from The Gaurdian about Australian uni student experience.

Campuses are packed here at UNSW. Yes, they weren't during lockdowns. How about interviewing current uni students?

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/25/australia-university-student-life

inside a dune!

‘We could break out of the intergenerational poverty cycle’: the scholarship that transformed one man’s life Access to education can change everything – just ask Mark Ryan

Help break the intergenerational poverty cycle!
#education

www.theguardian.com/the-smith-fa...

Nominate your Australia-based female colleagues to be elected AGU Fellows!!!!

Okay, so it's been 30 years since an Australia-based woman was elected Fellow of the @agu.org (not counting those that moved since they were elected). Surely, it's time to change that colleagues.

Nominations open and due 13 March:
www.agu.org/Honors/union...

www.agu.org/honors/union...

Rare summer La Niña could be forming in Pacific, raising risk of wet weather start to 2025 - ABC News The current edition of La Niña is not playing by the rule book — for only the second time in 75 years its onset has arrived in the middle of summer.

La Nina conditions have been reached in Pacific sea surface temperatures. Will we have a wet late summer in Eastern Australia? Will there be more groundwater recharge? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-07/australia-la-ni%C3%B1a-could-be-back-summer-wet-weather/104787346 #climate #groundwater

Hello!!! It’s been a while. I’ve been busy setting up the new Coastal Landscape Dynamics (CoLD) Group basin at Penn State (I’m now a plumber?!) and running the first experiments in it. Here’s a sneak preview including the very (VERY 😅) preliminary results I showed at #AGU24. More to come!

Here's why Peter Dutton's nuclear power plan is a fantasy - video Guardian Australia's Matilda Boseley dives into the Coalition's plan, which an overwhelming majority of agencies and experts in the field do not believe is credible

Understand the evidence and where the numbers are coming from!

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

@australia.theguardian.com
#Netzero

Advising governments about science is essential but difficult. So train people to do it A great scientist doesn’t necessarily make an effective science adviser — but schooling and practice can help to bridge the gap.

Recommended read:

Advising governments about science is essential but difficult. So train people to do it. A great scientist doesn’t necessarily make an effective science adviser — but schooling and practice can help to bridge the gap.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

My first message is this: We can do better. I believe we can improve how science is done at academic research institutions. For one thing, we might create a clearer distinction between markers of prestige-titles, publication records, number of citations, grant funding, committee appointments, eti-quette, dollars per net square footage-and those of quality science. Too often, we conflate the two, as if they're one and the same. But a person isn't a better scientist because she publishes more, or first. Perhaps she's holding back from publication because she wants to be absolutely certain of her data. Similarly, the number of citations might have little to do with the value of the paper and more to do with external events. When Drew and I published our landmark Immunity paper, it barely got any notice. It took a pandemic for the world to understand what we'd done and why it mattered.

Finished reading ‘Breaking Through’, Katalin Karikó’s book - it’s easy to read and it’s full of her refreshingly honest takes on science and careers in science. Here is one example 🧪

I have seen these features before, but I still think these are some of the most amazing landscapes on this planet. Polygonal weathering in the Navajo Sandstone, Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area

Flood disasters associated with preterm births and low birth weights New research finds that flooding increases preterm births and the likelihood of low birth weight. Both these outcomes are risk factors for developing chronic health conditions such as asthma and…

Flooding can shape a person's health even before birth, according to new #AGU24 research. A global analysis finds that floods elevate preterm births by about 3%, which can increase the risk of diseases like asthma and diabetes later in life.

Went for a run over the Potomac to spark some inspiration for the talk I’m giving today. Come check it out!
14:10 room 146C
agu.confex.com/agu/agu24/me...

#AGU24

🌟 Day 2 of #AGU24 is here! 🌍

With so many exciting sessions and events on the schedule, we’ve got your suggested itinerary lined up to help you make the most of the day.

Curious what the impact of the election will have on science policy? Or want to gain basic science policy skills? Check out the great science policy events happening at #AGU24 today.

See our full schedule of events here: https://buff.ly/3VsTrbZ