Dr Rebecca Williams
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volcanologist.bsky.social
Dr Rebecca Williams
@volcanologist.bsky.social

Reader in Volcanology in Geology @Hull. Waffle about volcanoes, HigherEd, tea and occasional running. SFHEA & STEM ambassador. She/her.

Sociology 22%
Public Health 15%
Pinned
It's about time I announced a project that I've been working on in the last year... I wrote a book!

'Volcanoes: 10 things you should know' published by @orionbooks.bsky.social Seven Dials will be out in September. It's available to pre-order now. Links: linktr.ee/volcanologist

This has happened to me. I waited for 15 minutes, forlorn. As I left the room, both fuming and crying inside, I saw all my students sitting in the room next door.

I was delighted that they'd hung around that long waiting for me to turn up 🫣

Reposted by Rebecca Williams

this is insane
New Home Office impact assessment finds that cutting skilled and social care visas will cost the UK up to £10 billion with a central estimate of -£5.4 billion.

It would be good if this got even a fraction of the coverage devoted to the endless debate about boats, flags and Turkish barber shops

I was being kind to myself 👀😫

OMG the emails I've been ignoring! 😲🫣
I've had "impossibly big task" blocker for the last couple of weeks.

Amazing how quickly I'm burning through my to do list now that task is completed. But wow, have I been neglecting a whole bunch of work 😬😫
IT NEVER WORKS. NEVER. EVER. NEVER WORKS. IT HAS NEVER WORKED. AUSTERITY LEADS TO ENROLLMENT COLLAPSE LEAVES TO UNIVERSITY CLOSURE. EVERY TIME. ALWAYS.

I've had "impossibly big task" blocker for the last couple of weeks.

Amazing how quickly I'm burning through my to do list now that task is completed. But wow, have I been neglecting a whole bunch of work 😬😫
Jimmy Fallon: "And do you use ChatGPT when raising your baby?"

Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."

We want the media and politicians to recognise that there is a large number of women who are supportive of the trans+ community. We call on them to report truthfully about the sources of violence against women and to address the systems that perpetuate harm. notinourname.org.uk/petition/not...
Women in support of the trans+ community - Not in our name
notinourname.org.uk

It's lovely to do it as part of a tradition. My kids regularly go through and decide which toys need a new life with a new kid. We always take them to the charity shop together.

Reposted by Rebecca Williams

Honestly feels like we need to delete the whole internet and start over again, but this time banning all genAI

But then again, a colleague did recommend a research student use copilot to summarise a "really long paper". I'm not sure what's worse. 😫

I came across one that has several posts about a PhD supervisor stealing their work (publishing a draft of their paper as they're own work). Then most of the other videos are about how to use AI apps to read, summarise and compare literature.
The phenomenon of fake PhD student influencers trying to convince young people they should use AI to do work is reeeeeally fucked up. Don’t know if it’s just an emerging grift category for directly seeded by LLM vendors but it’s really insidious and gross.

Reposted by Rebecca Williams

The phenomenon of fake PhD student influencers trying to convince young people they should use AI to do work is reeeeeally fucked up. Don’t know if it’s just an emerging grift category for directly seeded by LLM vendors but it’s really insidious and gross.

Reposted by Rebecca Williams

Are you a #teacher looking for training opportunities in #geosciences or seeking #financial assistance for events that promote geoscience #education?

Apply now for the 2026 Field School for Teachers and Geoscience Education Event!
📆 31 December 2025: egu.eu/96EKUA

📸 Ole Zeising on #imaggeo

Reposted by Rebecca Williams

*This* is what the people of Pompeii, and Herculaneum, and many other hapless souls saw—this is what a pyroclastic density current looks coming RIGHT at you.

Filmed from a CCTV camera during the Mount Semeru eruption on Java, Indonesia on 4 December 2022.

Video credit: PT United Tractors Tbk
I have three copies of Climate Champions by @rachelsarah.bsky.social to give away! I bought a bunch when they came out (I’m in it). This book, targeted at middle and high schoolers, features biographies of a diversity of women working on climate action across disciplines.

Reposted by Rebecca Williams

Good morning! 🪶

Oh goodness, that's a worrying sign.

We were frustrated that we were only told about it when the school itself was quite far along in the process. But they argued that they wanted to do the due diligence first before presenting it to parents.

Again, I think we're lucky it went the way it did.

Yeah, I talked to someone who is on this field and they gave it a ✔️

bsky.app/profile/volc...

Hot cloudy apple with a splash of the ginger cordial?! 🤔

We weren't as organised as it sounds you all are. Our consultation was very much after the decision had been made. But I think ultimately we got lucky in that the school had done a lot of research themselves and the Academy it joined was a good one. It's been positive so far - we've seen no change.

I can't find the research I did. But if helpful, this is the list of questions I compiled. I had loads of help from EduTwitter and teacher friends on Facebook. docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Questions I prepped for academisation meeting
What is the driver of this when studies show that there is no positive educational impact for children attending MATs, that pupils in larger chains do worse and that  for high performing schools their...
docs.google.com

Oh we went through this a year or so ago. I did loads of research and we interrogated the Academy CEO/Head.

I found that it's less about academisation vs not. And more about the specific academy. So much variation in approach and quality.

This is wonderful

Reposted by Rebecca Williams

There’s still time to step into a leadership role in geoscience publishing! GSA is seeking science editors, associate editors & editorial board members to help guide the next wave of research. Build experience, expand your network, and shape your field.

Explore openings: geosociety.co/GSAEditors

Reposted by Rebecca Williams

The latest Eruptions newsletter is out! This week I talk about the Hayli Gubbi eruption, new activity at Puracé in Colombia, some candidates for volcanoes that may have started the cascades of events leading to the Black Death and Bob & Doug McKenzie: eruptions.beehiiv.com/p/eruptions-...
Eruptions Newsletter #24 for December 5, 2025
The aftermath of the Hayli Gubbi eruption, volcanoes may have triggered the Black Death in Europe and a beer in a tree.
eruptions.beehiiv.com

Reposted by Rebecca Williams

‘Incredible’ carved canoe dates back to first settlement of islands near New Zealand | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
‘Incredible’ carved canoe dates back to first settlement of islands near New Zealand
Fibers found on waka in Chatham Islands roughly align in age with earliest known human arrival
www.science.org

Reposted by Rebecca Williams

Does any other country hold huge nationally-recognised celebration for geologists?

Reposted by Rebecca Williams

Happy Barbórka, the Polish traditional celebration of workers in the mining & geological industries 🇵🇱⚒️

The celebration come with a traditional uniform, with feathered hat and sword.