Prof Col Macpherson

Prof Col Macpherson

@colinmacpherson.bsky.social

Rock ̵e̵t̵ ̵ scientist @durhamearthsci.bsky.social 🧪⚒️🌋 Husband, dad, typographical errer

866 followers458 following1.5K posts

Prof Col Macpherson
@colinmacpherson.bsky.social

I visited UofI a couple of weeks ago. Looked like a great place to work with great people too. ⚒️🧪

authodizer@doktrock.bsky.social

🚨Job Alert 🚨 ‼️ Faculty position in Geochemistry and Environmental #Geology at University of Iceland ⚒️🧪🇮🇸 english.hi.is/about-ui/wor...

english.hi.isVacanciesThe University of Iceland is one of the largest employers in Iceland. The university's mission is to conduct academic research and education, a goal that can only be achieved through the continuous en...

Prof Col Macpherson reposted

Steve Brusatte
@stevebrusatte.bsky.social

🚨Postdoc job alert: Come work with my paleontology & evolution group in Edinburgh! Researcher in Cognitive Evolution Over Deep Time. You'll study how brains & neurons have evolved over time, and predict neuron count in extinct species! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DTC355/p...

jobs.ac.ukPostdoctoral Research Associate in Cognitive Evolution over Deep Time at The University of EdinburghApply for the Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cognitive Evolution over Deep Time role on jobs.ac.uk, the top job board for academic positions in higher education. View details and apply now.
Prof Col Macpherson
@colinmacpherson.bsky.social

Lucky enough earlier this week to get excellent view of the 2023-25 lava flows around the town of Grindavík (middle on coast), Blue Lagoon Resort and neighbouring geothermal plant (inland, middle-left) on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland. 🌋⚒️🧪

Prof Col Macpherson reposted

Alice Roberts
@profaliceroberts.bsky.social

I’ve reached the point - well actually, I reached it a while ago - where I’m militantly anti-AI. Fine - use it in bioscience labs and radiology where it might help analyse data more effectively. Use it sparingly for systems engineering. Everywhere else, it can fuck off.

Prof Col Macpherson reposted

Brandon Bishop
@brandontbishop.bsky.social

Our answer is the same as it's ever been in times of methodological crisis: EXPLAIN ROCK, LOOK AT ROCK, LOOK AT MORE ROCKS. Beware of those who claim you've seen enough rocks....

Prof Col Macpherson reposted

Katie Mack
@astrokatie.com

This is one of the objections I have when people talk about how useful LLMs can be for literature searches or for any kind of search, really. Even beyond the biases that inevitably (and, in some cases, intentionally) show up, part of a good literature search is seeing information *in context.*

This post is unavailable.

Prof Col Macpherson reposted

Margot Finn
@eicathomefinn.bsky.social

'A prolonged fall in the number of international students applying to study in the UK means “the wheels are rapidly falling off” the student loan-funded higher education system in England, sector experts have warned.' The world's 2nd best university system being killed by malign neglect. 1/3

Research Professional News@resprofnews.bsky.social

‘Wheels rapidly falling off university funding system’. “No sign of awareness” at Treasury as international recruitment decline worsens financial outlook, experts warn. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...

researchprofessionalnews.com‘Wheels rapidly falling off university funding system’ - Research Professional News“No sign of awareness” at Treasury as international recruitment decline worsens financial outlook, experts warn
Prof Col Macpherson
@colinmacpherson.bsky.social

Pallasites are so often shown cut and polished - still beautiful in their raw form though. 😍🧪⚒️

themeteoriteman.bsky.social@themeteoriteman.bsky.social

Pallasite: One of the most significant meteorites in this Museum's collection is a 1.7kg mass of the Krasnojarsk meteorite which was found in 1772. Found in Krasnojarsk, Russia, the meteorite is composed of glassy green olivine crystals embedded in Fe-Ni alloy. Unique oumnh.ox.ac.uk/learn-meteor...

Prof Col Macpherson reposted

Department of Earth Sciences at Durham University, UK
@durhamearthsci.bsky.social

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝘆𝘂𝘀𝗵𝘂 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗸𝗲 🌐 After the Magnitude 6.8 earthquake that struck the Kumamoto region, Japan, today, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at 4:27 PM local time, the exposition seismometer displayed at the entrance of the Department received its signal!

Prof Col Macpherson reposted

Oliver T Lord
@olivertlord.bsky.social

We're hiring in the School of Earth Sciences @bristoluni.bsky.social: NERC-funded PDRA in Petrological Controls on Ore Genesis. Arizona fieldwork, synchrotron work at Diamond, and high-pressure experiments on how subduction zones concentrate copper. Closes 5 Aug: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DSG652/s...

jobs.ac.ukSenior Research Associate in Petrological Controls on Ore Genesis at University of BristolDiscover an exciting academic career path as a Senior Research Associate in Petrological Controls on Ore Genesis at jobs.ac.uk. Don't miss out on this job opportunity - apply today!
Prof Col Macpherson
@colinmacpherson.bsky.social

👀

Carl T. Bergstrom@carlbergstrom.com

13. Hence our dismal conclusion: rather than finding that LLMs free us to do a better job of what we were doing before they came along, they shift scientific incentives (and the playing field of academic competition) in ways that compel us to do more and more, faster and faster, less and less well.

Prof Col Macpherson reposted

Ele Willoughby
@minouette.bsky.social

Happy birthday to brilliant trailblazing US #geologist & prof Florence Bascom (1862-1945) 👩🏼‍🔬🐡🧪⚒️ #histsci who championed women’s education, & used polarizing microscopes for detailed petrographic analysis to show that rocks previously identified as sedimentary were in fact metamorphosed volcanic 🧵

Prof Col Macpherson
@colinmacpherson.bsky.social

Fascinating. Shout out to the spirit of Stuart Boyd (with the equal oldest citation from this paper) who was a pioneer investigating nitrogen in high temp rocks and the solid Earth. ⚒️🧪🌋🌍

Howard Lee@hlee.bsky.social

🤯 Nitrogen levels in *granites* reveal strong burial of organic matter in the proterozoic eon, in line with oxygen rise. The nitrogen in the granites originated from organic matter in the sediments that melted to form the granites. ⚒️🧪 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

sciencedirect.comNitrogen in strongly peraluminous granites reveals a significant increase in biomass burial and O2 production prior to the Neoproterozoic Oxygenation EventStrongly Peraluminous Granites (SPGs) are mostly formed by the partial melting of Al-rich sedimentary rocks and can reflect the chemical properties of…

Prof Col Macpherson reposted

Durham University
@durham.ac.uk

Many congratulations to alumnus Ross Forbes. Ross has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science for his contribution to heritage, culture and community engagement in County Durham.

Prof Col Macpherson
@colinmacpherson.bsky.social

This art🤝geology is rather wonderful ⚒️🧪

Runs with scissors in the dark@tevistickles.bsky.social

An "Object at Rest" is an animated cartoon by Seth Boyden. He says, the cartoon "follows the life of a stone as it travels over the course of millennia, facing nature's greatest obstacle: human civilization." It was his final thesis film at CalArts. Well done, Seth! I feel bad for the rock though.

Prof Col Macpherson reposted

Margot Finn
@eicathomefinn.bsky.social

'Our Inquiry found that white working class parents are more likely than others to say they want their children to have a better education than they had themselves: 94 per cent say this, compared with 91 per cent of all parents.' 1/3

wonkhe.comHigher education needs to earn back the trust of white working class familiesThe independent inquiry into white working class educational outcomes found a lack of trust in higher education, not in aspiration. Anne-Marie Canning explains