How to organise the thoughts of an academic.

The product of Pete's first project planning meeting
back in October 2012

Part of the reason why scientific research is an ongoing process is that our understanding of the natural environment is constantly changing as old theories are proved incorrect, known as the 'halflife of facts' (the time it takes for someone to prove our existing theories wrong).  This often means that we are revisiting old questions and applying new techniques, applying existing techniques to new situations or simply looking at the environment from a completely new angle.





Dave visualising how each aspect of the team interlink

Having to think outside the box is almost a prerequisite of scientific research, having to question what we think we know and what those before us told us: for example ponds were viewed as 'insignificant' for the majority of the 20^th C, and we all know that is not true!

Strangers to academic research often mistake it for something quite rigid and formal yet this thinking outside the box process often requires a certain creativity and originality.

Dave's micro, meso, macro, supra macro:
the key to accurately quantifying regional carbon fluxes

Often there can be so many different aspects of a project operating at once that it requires a slightly creative method for keeping up with everyones projects and keeping track of where they fit in the bigger picture.

The doodles, sketches and notes on these 'posters' might look like the messy ramblings of a child but they are a fantastic way of organising thoughts and visually presenting our ideas to the group during meetings.

Pete's plan of attack for monitoring gas fluxes from
wetlands along Druridge Bay

These four images are just a collection of the posters created over the last few years but these artworks seem to hold an integral part of our thought process here at ACFG.  Yet of course slightly more time is put in to making them look more professional when they are presented to the public and wider academic community.  Click here to see the award winning posters Scott and I presented at the British Organic Geochemistry Society back in July!