News
06/24 Opening hours of the secretariat
The office is now open again Tue/Thu from 7:00 am to 10:00 am, Wed from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm and Fri from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.
The office will remain closed on Mondays for the time being.
06/2024 EU Funds Doctoral Network from Finland to Italy
The European Research Executive Agency (REA), acting on behalf of the European Commission, has awarded a significant research grant of €2.7 million for a threeyear project under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme to a multinational consortium of seven European universities led by the University of Helsinki. The project, titled FluxBEATS, aims to investigate geological and geochemical processes at volcanic systems.
The European Research Executive Agency (REA) has awarded one of its prestigious grants for Doctoral Networks (DN) to a multinational consortium of seven European universities and research institutions, led by the University of Helsinki. The grant amounts to €2.7 million over a period of three years. The DN programme is part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), the European Union's main funding programme for doctoral training and post-doctoral research training.
The partner institutions will collaborate on the FluxBEATS project (Fluxes at divergent plate Boundary Environments Analyzed in Time and Space), investigating geological and geochemical processes at volcanic systems both above and below water. This will include geological observations, state-of-the-art geochemical and biogeochemical analyses, as well as data and modelling from modern volcanic systems along mid-ocean ridges. Insights from the study of today’s seafloor will then be compared with corresponding geological sequences throughout Earth's history to provide robust assessments of quantitative changes over time.
Partners include the University of Helsinki (Finland), the University of Bergen (Norway), the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (Germany), the University of Münster (Germany), Politecnico di Torino (Italy), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (France), the Geological Survey of Finland, as well as academic and non-academic partners from across Europe.
One of the ten individual projects within the network will be based at Uni Münster. Prof Andreas Stracke will lead one of the work packages and, together with Dr. Felix Genske, supervise one PhD project.
Background: European Research Executive Agency
The European Research Executive Agency (REA) supports, on behalf of the European Commission, the promotion of research and innovation in the EU. It funds high-quality projects that generate new knowledge for society, particularly within the Horizon Europe programme. A key component of this programme is the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), named after the physicist and chemist of Polish origin. These actions aim to support researchers in working across countries and sectors, and in building international careers. The goal of doctoral networks is to provide excellent training to doctoral candidates, foster their creativity and innovation, and improve their prospects for long-term employment.
More information about the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions of the European Commission can be found here: https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/
06/24 Welcome Eric Edmund!
Eric Edmund is an experimental mineral physicist with a background in laser-heated diamond anvil cell techniques. He will experimentally investigate the transport properties of materials relevant to Earth's core-mantle boundary to better constrain the evolution and dynamics of Earth's core and mantle. Eric will join the Group of Prof. Carmen Sanchez-Valle as a PostDoc.
04/24 Welcome Marisa Wood!
Marisa is a mineral physicist who uses experimental and computational techniques to better understand the deep interior of the Moon and Earth. She will be investigating the partitioning of volatile elements between deep mantle minerals and Fe-alloys relevant to planetary cores. She will join the institute as a PostDoc.
04/24 Welcome Georg Spiekermann
We welcome Georg Spiekermann as a new Academic Councilor in the Mineralogy group headed by Prof. Carmen Sanchez-Valle. Georg's research focuses on physical properties of minerals. He will set up the laboratory for thermal conductivity under extreme conditions and try to inspire students for mineral physics.
04/24 Secretariat momentarily closed
The secretariat of the institute will be staffed again from 29.05.2024. If you have any questions before then, please contact the relevant person at the Institute directly. You can find their contact information under: https://www.uni-muenster.de/Mineralogie/personen/index.html
03/24 We congratulate Christine Putnis for receiving the title of Geochemistry Fellow!
We congratulate Christine Putnis for receiving the title of Geochemistry Fellow! This title is bestowed by the European Association of Geochemistry and the Geochemical society upon outstanding scientists who have, over some years, made a major contribution to the field of geochemistry. Awards are made on the basis of a core value to recognise sustained scientific excellence and eminence. We are proud to work with such an influential scientist! If you want to learn more about the European Association of Geochemistry, about the Geochemical Society or about the Geochemistry Fellow Honor you can follow the links.
01/24 Nature Communications Paper by Christian Vollmer
Congratulations to Christian Vollmer on his paper in Nature Communications entitled: "High-spatial resolution functional chemistry of nitrogen compounds in the observed UK meteorite fall Winchcombe". Click here for the detailed press release of the university and here for the paper.
01/24 Michael Bröcker retires
After more than 30 years of loyalty, Michael Bröcker is leaving the institute for his well-deserved retirement. We wish him all the best and will miss him dearly!
01/24 Colloquium date postponed
The colloquium date with Audrey Bouvier on 11.01.2024 has been postponed to 11.04.2024 due to the rail strike.
11/2023 Welcome Dr. Vincent Clesi
We welcome Dr. Vincent Clesi as new postdoctoral researcher in the mineralogy group (AG Sanchez-Valle). Vincent will investigate the mobility of carbonate-rich melts in the upper mantle conditions.
10/23 New colloqium dates
There are new colloquium dates for this semester:
| Date | Speaker | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 02.11.23 | Lucie Tajcmanova |
“Quantification of microscale processes in metamorphic rocks” |
| 23.11.23 |
Jean-Philippe Perrillat |
“High pressure transitions of olivine, thickness of seismic discontinuities and attenuation" |
| 30.11.23 | Giulio Borghini | Unraveling the origin and scale of mantle heterogeneities by field-based studies and experiments |
| 07.12.23 |
Jörg Hermann |
"Dehydration of ultramafic rocks and continental crust formation” |
|
11.01.24 Postponed! New Date: 11.04.2024 |
Audrey Bouvier | tba |
| 25.01.24 | Daniel Weidendorfer | tba |
The colloqiums take place at 2:15 p.m. in room 112 at Corrensstr. 24.
An overview of all dates can be found here.
10/2023 Welcome Daria Diagileva and Lauren Jennings
We welcome Daria Diagileva as new PhD student in the Mineralogy group, supported by SPP2238 DOME[C1] , ‘Dynamics of Ore Metals Enrichment’. More information about the program can be found here
We also welcome Lauren Jennings as a new PhD student. She will be working intensively on the mantle of Venus.
09/2023 Welcome Dr. Chao Wang
We welcome Dr. Chao Wang as the first Münster Early Career Postdoctoral Fellowships in Geosciences. Dr. Chao will join the mineralogy group to investigate the composition of subduction zone fluids.
09/23 ERC Starting Grant for Edgar Steenstra
Congratulation to Edgar Steenstra, who got funded with an ERC starting grant. Edgar will take the grant to TU Delft in the Netherlands. We wish him all the best for the future.
09/23 Service anniversary Andrew Hardes
Andrew Hardes has been with the university for 40 years. As a friendly face in the electronic workshop of the institute, he is indispensable! Congratulations on the service anniversary and we are happy to have him with us!
8/2023 Farewell Dr. Peter Schmid-Beurmann
After 18 years as senior researcher in Crystallography-Mineralogy, and as Mineralogy Curator at the Geomuseum, Dr. Peter Schmid-Beurmann retired in August 2023. Congratulations and all the best for the future.
07/23 Welcome Artur Wins
We look forward to welcoming Artur Wins to the Institute of Mineralogy! In the future, he will support the institute as part of the team in the electrical workshop.
07/23 Paul Niggli Medal 2023 - Chris Renggli
Our congratulations go to Christian Renggli, who is the recipient of the Paul Niggli Medal for the year 2023. The Paul NIggli Medal is one of the most prestigious price for early career researchers in Switzerland. He will receive the medal at the Swiss Geoscience meeting in Medrisio (CH).
06/2023 Welcome Niccolò Satta
We are happy to welcome Niccolò Satta at the Institute of Mineralogy! He will support the institute as a temporary academic advisor in experimental mineral physics.
05/2023 Welcome Pilar Valsera Moreno and Camilla Sani
We welcome Pilar Valsera Moreno as a new doctoral student in the Mineralogy group. We also welcome Camilla Sani as a new post-doc in Andreas Stracke's working group!