We’re pleased to share some moments from the recent European Mineralogical Conference EMC 2024 in Dublin, where our talented young researchers, who were awarded the EMU Travel Grant, presented their interesting works.

Check out the gallery below:

Alice Taddei
University of Firenze, Italy

Yuri Galliano
University of Genoa, Italy

Ena Topalovic
University of Zagreb, Croatia

Zhengzheng Chen
GFZ, Germany

Congratulations to all for their outstanding contributions!

We look forward to seeing more from them in the future!

During the 37^th EMU Council meeting, held publicly at the Burke Theater of Trinity College Dublin on August 20^th, new members of the executive committee were elected.

Prof. Ewa Słaby has transitioned to the role of EMU Past-President, succeeding Prof. Michael Carpenter.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Ewa handed over the presidency to the newly elected EMU President,
Prof. Isabelle Daniel.

The EMU extends its gratitude to Prof. Ewa Słaby and Prof. Michael Carpenter for their exceptional guidance and leadership.

The EMU is pleased to invite all member societies to attend the 37^th EMU Council Meeting of the European Mineralogical Union, which will take place during the European Mineralogical Conference (EMC 2024) in Dublin.
This important meeting is open to everyone.

Meeting Details:
Date: Tuesday, 20 August
Time: 13:00 (Irish Standard Time, GMT+2)
Location: room 1 – Burke Theatre

The detailed agenda is in the PDF.

Your participation is crucial for the continued success and governance of the EMU.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The EMU invites you to attend two outstanding lectures of the EMU Medallists at the upcoming European Mineralogical Conference (EMC 2024) in Dublin.

Plenary Lecture by Jakub Kierczak
Date and Time: Friday, 23rd August, 8:30 – 9:00 am
Title: Ultramafic geosystems: a source of metallic elements to the environment
Speaker: Jakub Kierczak, EMU Research Excellence Medallist 2022

Keynote Presentation by José Alberto Padrón-Navarta
Date and Time: Tuesday, 20th August, 3:00 – 3:40 pm
Session: 26/28
Title: Redox Dehydration in Subduction Zones
Speaker: José Alberto Padrón-Navarta, EMU Research Excellence Medallist 2023

We are delighted to announce the five young researchers who have been awarded the EMU Travel Grant to participate in mineralogical and geochemical conferences this year.

Four researchers will be presenting their work at the EMC-2024 in Dublin, and one researcher will be attending the Goldschmidt 2024 conference in Chicago.

Below are the details of their presentations:

• Alice Taddei (University of Firenze, Italy)
  The puzzle of an allanite-like epidote mineral from Malmkärra, Sweden: Toward the new (OH)-analogue of dollaseite-(Ce)
  Oral presentation (EMC 2024): Friday, 23 August 2024, 13:40, session 33

• Ena Topalovic (University of Zagreb, Croatia)
  Rare Earth Element Distribution in Tošići-Dujići Bauxite Deposit: Insights from BCR Sequential Extraction
  Poster presentation (EMC 2024): session 18/19

• Yuri Galliano (University of Genoa, Italy)
  Bat guano-derived hydroxylapatite: an overlooked testimony of past biological activity and a sink of metals in cave environments
  Oral presentation (EMC 2024): Tuesday, 20 August, 15:20, session 1

• Zhengzheng Chen (GFZ, Germany)
  Geochemical and microbiological reactions controlling siderite in redox active soils
  Oral presentation (EMC 2024): Tuesday, 20 August, 11:40, session 21/23

• Margot Bruneau (University Gustave Eiffel, France)
  The Platinum Group Elements and Rare Earth Elements’ particles in road dusts
  Poster presentation (Goldschmidt 2024): Wednesday, 21 August 2024, 17:30, session 11h

EMU is pleased to announce the EMU Research Excellence Medal 2024 competition, presented annually to early career scientists who have made significant contributions to research and who actively strengthen European scientific connections.

Detailed information about the application requirements is available here.

The nomination deadline this year is 1 July 2024, 12:00 (CET).

We are delighted to announce the recipient of the EMU Research Excellence Medal 2023 – Dr. José Alberto Padrón-Navarta (Andalusian Earth Science Institute IACT, Granada, Spain).

Dr. Padrón-Navarta has achieved remarkable success in the fields of mineralogy and petrology, offering groundbreaking insights into the cycle and fate of volatiles through Earth’s subduction zones.

Congratulations, Dr. Padrón-Navarta, on earning this prestigious award in recognition of your exceptional contributions to Earth sciences!

In 2024, the EMU offers up to
6 TRAVEL GRANTS of 400 € each to promote the attendance of students in mineralogy at:

– European Mineralogical Conference 2024 (Dublin, Ireland, 18-23 August 2024);
– Goldschmidt Conference 2024 (Chicago, USA, 18-23 August 2024);
– 34th European Crystallographic Meeting (Padova, Italy, 26-30 August 2024);
– 18th European Powder Diffraction Conference (Padova, Italy, 30 Aug – 2 Sept 2024).

Eligibility:

The student(s) should be registered for a BSc, MSci or MSc, MGeol, or PhD degree in the subject area of mineralogy at large, in a university of a country represented in the EMU (see the list of EMU Member Societies).

How to apply:

Please send an application package to the acting and vice-president of the EMU (isabelle.daniel@univ-lyon1.fr and alessandro.pavese@unito.it).
The deadline for application is April 4^th, 2024

Application package:

In a single ‘Firstname_Lastname.pdf’ file:

• cover letter of 1 page;
• 2-pages CV;
• copy of the submitted abstract with proof of payment;
• projected budget of the participation (travel expenses, housing, registration fees vs available resources) to one of the conferences.

Evaluation and selection of the best applications will be based on the academic merit of applicants.

The European Mineralogical Union (EMU) invites you to an online lecture of the 2022 EMU Research Excellence Medal recipient, Dr. Jakub Kierczak from the University of Wrocław, Poland, titled
“Ultramafic geosystems as a source of metallic elements to the environment“.

The lecture was held on 5th December 2023
at 12:00 CET on-line via Zoom.

Royal Society Publishing has recently published a special double issue of Philosophical Transactions A: Exploring the length scales, timescales and chemistry of challenging materials (Part I & II) compiled and edited by C Richard A Catlow, Chris Howard, Andrea Sella, Ana Jorge Sobrido, and Martin Wilding.

The articles can be accessed directly at www.bit.ly/TransA2258 and www.bit.ly/TransA2259
A print version is also available at the special price of £40.00 per issue from sales@royalsociety.org

This special double issue of Philosophical Transactions A honours the scientific contributions of our dear friend and colleague
Prof. Paul F. McMillan (University College London), who sadly passed away in 2022.
Paul was a major contributor to solid-state science, materials chemistry and high-pressure physics. He also deeply influenced and contributed to the field of mineralogy under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure. He developed a unique framework for understanding the microscopic and vibrational properties underpinning the macroscopic characteristics of melts and minerals.

During the Goldschmidt Conference on geochemistry, held from 9th to 14th July 2023 in Lyon, two young researchers, Hannah Pollak (University of Edinburgh) and Ruth Esther Delina (GFZ Helmholtz Centre Potsdam), were granted the opportunity to explore the forefront of geochemical research and immerse themselves in the geochemical scientific community, thanks to the support of EMU Student Travel Grants.
Their wonderful experiences were beautifully captured in the photos shared below.

Hannah Pollak : Understanding interactions between amino acids and nontronite clays: What is the effect of ions?

Ruth Esther Delina : Distribution and speciation of chromium in active and legacy nickel laterite tailings

We wish Hannah and Ruth all the best in their future endeavours and eagerly await the next generation of advanced research results they will bring to the scientific community!

It is with great pleasure that we announce the recipient of the EMU Research Excellence Medal 2022 – Dr. Jakub Kierczak.

Dr. Kierczak is an accomplished researcher who has made substantial contributions to the scientific research on the mobility and distribution of metals in natural and anthropogenic soils. His main research topic has focused on reconstructing migration paths of metallic elements from ultramafic rocks and metallurgical slags, combining methods of geochemistry, geology, mineralogy, soil science, and biology in studying rocks, soils, and plants.
In addition to his impressive research activity, Dr. Kierczak has played an active role in integrating the mineralogical community in Poland as a member of the Society’s Board and, since December 2020, as the President of the Mineralogical Society of Poland.
Dr. Jakub Kierczak’s interdisciplinary approach, combined with his dedication to advancing scientific knowledge, makes him a deserving recipient of the 2022 Research Excellence Medal.
Congratulations, Dr. Kierczak, on this well-deserved recognition of your outstanding scientific achievements!

The EMU Research Excellence Medal 2021 ceremony was held at the Cité Centre de Congrès in Lyon during the 23^rd General Meeting of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA 2022, 18-22 July).

The Vice-President of the EMU, Isabelle Daniel, congratulated the two winners of the year 2021, Sylvain Bernard and Matteo Alvaro, for excellence in research.

The unprovoked attack against Ukraine, a democratic and independent country, is a violation of international law. It is an assault on the fundamental principles of freedom, democracy and self-determination, which provide the basis for academic freedom and opportunities for scientific exchange and cooperation. The EMU calls on the Russian leadership to immediately cease all military action against Ukraine and put an end to this war.
We believe that science should be free and unimpeded by borders and politics. Mutual respect is essential to make our world a more civilised and peaceful place. As the situation in Ukraine continues to worsen, we add our voices to those throughout the international scientific community – including many Russians who have spoken out against this war – in hoping for a peaceful and swift resolution.

The 2021 EMU Research Excellence Medal is awarded jointly to
Dr. Sylvain Bernard and Dr. Matteo Alvaro.

They are both excellent scientists, who have developed new methodologies for their fields of study and have come up with new ideas which can be used by the scientific community.
Both of them are mentors and role models to a generation of young scientists, carry out highly innovative and inspiring research and have developed an impressive network of worldwide connections and projects. They were both scored with very high ratings (32 vs. 30) by the committee during the evaluation of their nominations.
For these reasons, the 2021 EMU Medal Committee has agreed that they both deserve to be recipients of the 2021 Research Excellence Award of the European Mineralogical Union.