Sunday 29 May 2016

Letter from Charleston

In January this year I hopped the Atlantic and starting working at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Here I am working as the Professor of Paleontology and also as the Director of the College of Charleston Mace Brown Museum of Natural History. I am also still keeping research going back at the University of Manchester, working with the splendid ICAL team, now in the capable hands of Prof. Roy Wogelius. Those who know me will realise that I have worked at Manchester, on and off, since 1990...a long time, so many links with my old colleagues remain. My new colleagues at the College of Charleston are a splendid bunch of folks, who have already made me feel both welcomed and valued. I have continued my outreach work both in the UK and now in the USA...recently giving a talk at the Pint of Science Festival in Manchester. My outreach in the USA is focusing on local audiences in Charleston through events such as 'Darwin Week', but has also extended to giving talks on research-led engagement at the AAAS meeting in Washington DC. Life has been a tad hectic, but splendid fun!

My wife, Dr. Victoria Egerton and I have also been made Extraordinary Visiting Scientists at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis (Indianna) where we spend weekends and much of our summer promoting science to the next generation of aspiring scientists.
I shall endeavour to start-up writing my blog again...as with museums, teaching, fieldwork and research...there is much to tell!