Fellow's Insight: an interview with Dr Marie Edmonds

Dr Marie Edmonds – Deputy Senior Tutor; Graduate Tutor; Reader in Earth Sciences

What is the essence of your research?

Through most of my career, I have focussed on how volcanoes shape the climate and the planet through the outgassing of volatiles, like water and carbon dioxide. These volatiles are essentially transferred from the interior of the Earth to the atmosphere via volcanoes.

What inspired you to become a volcanologist?

That’s a good question! I didn’t do Geology at school – it’s not a subject you tend to do. It’s very rare to find someone coming through wanting to do Earth Sciences at Cambridge who has done “A” Level. From an early age I was very interested in science, the outdoors and how the Earth works. Coming to university, I applied for Natural Sciences courses – I was an undergraduate at Jesus College – and that really shaped my interest. I ended up doing a PhD with David Pyle, who’s now at Oxford, and Clive Oppenheimer, who’s here in Geography.

To Queens’…

After graduating from my PhD, I went away for about seven years, working first of all with the British Geological Survey as volcanologist. I was very lucky with my PhD; just after I started, one of our only British volcanoes, on the island of Monserrat in the Caribbean, started erupting. My PhD was nothing to do with that originally, but the eruption began and that shaped the PhD. I ended up working in volcano observatories with the British Geological Survey and then the US Geological Survey. I came back to Cambridge in 2007 as a lecturer and Queens’ approached me about becoming a Fellow. Professor James Jackson (1973), one of my colleagues in Earth Sciences, was here, and he has been a terrific mentor to me. He was, at the time, becoming Head of Department, so it was quite clear that there was a need for another Earth Scientist here at Queens’.

Now, as Earth Sciences Director of Studies, Deputy Senior Tutor and Graduate Tutor, I spend a fair amount of time at Queens’ and it’s very important to me. I’ve been here for 11 years now and it’s become like a family to me.

Is Earth Sciences is exploding at Queens’?

Could be! We are very lucky to have Dr Camilla Penney as a Junior Research Fellow this year: she did her PhD with James Jackson on continental tectonics and earthquakes. The family is expanding further with Dr Anja Schmidt, who is a Bye-Fellow and will join Queens’ as an Official Fellow in October this year. Anja is an interdisciplinary lecturer between Geography and the Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry. She is also a volcanologist, looking at large gas clouds erupted from volcanoes and how they are dispersed in the atmosphere.

What do you see as the practical application of your research in people’s lives?

As the world’s population grows, it’s becoming more and more critical to understand natural hazards; you only need to see the eruption of Anak Krakatau in the news to understand that. People tend to live in hazardous areas, such as along the coastline, because that’s where the tourism and fishing and socio-economic benefits are, but of course that’s also the most hazardous area. It’s the same with volcanoes: people tend to live around volcanoes because they give rise to fertile soil.

It is increasingly important to provide monitoring and hazard assessment and to try to mitigate the risk of volcanic eruption to the world’s population, through understanding volcanic processes.

What is so good about the Natural Sciences Tripos at Cambridge?

The strength of the Cambridge system, compared to other universities which offer separate degree courses for the separate sciences, is that in the first year students are grounded in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, which really helps those who end up specialising in Earth Sciences. It provides a strong, quantitative framework upon which to learn about the Earth. I am absolutely convinced that our course is very strong for that reason.

We have a challenge in Earth Sciences because we’re a small subject and one that most incoming students have never studied; every year we try to inspire the Part 1A students, to make them brave enough to try a subject they’ve never tried before. The Natural Sciences Tripos is unique; it really encourages them to take on something new and Earth Sciences is the perfect subject for that, as it has such clear links with the three main sciences. So we wheel out all our best lecturers in 1A!

We never lose sight of the fact that we have to put effort into this, because we are a minor subject, but an amazing subject.

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

I must say, one of the challenges I’ve faced is one that many women in academia face: I’ve got two small children, now aged 7 and 9. I do less fieldwork now than I used to, because my children need me here. So my priorities have changed a little bit. Balancing life and career is a challenge, but it is doable. You can be a successful scientist and have young children and, actually, Cambridge is a brilliant place to do that. The whole system here is so nurturing and supportive of people with young families.