Dr Samuel Boone
Research Fellow, University of Melbourne
Bachelor of Science (physics), Master of Science (geology) & Doctorate of Philosophy (geology)
November 2021
Dr Samuel Boone is a geoscience Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne, School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and a leader in the Melbourne Thermochronology Research Group.
Sam’s researches the thermal and tectonic evolution of Earth's crust in relation to the growth and breakup of continents, and the evolution of landscapes over tens to hundreds of millions of years.
Sam aims to improve our understanding of the dynamic Earth systems that drive the evolution of Earth’s interior, exterior, climate and biosphere. To do this, Sam integrates a range of radiometric dating techniques with geochemistry, structural geology and stratigraphy in field and laboratory work.
Sam and his colleagues trekking to an outcrop in the Billefjorden Trough, a Carboniferous rift basin preserved on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. Due to the remoteness of this basin, for two weeks they set up camp in an abandoned Soviet mining town and hiked each day to the rift outcrops 10 km away.
Why did you choose this career pathway?
I kind of fell into this career. I found geoscience to be a fascinating subject, for which I went back to graduate school to study. Since then, I have just pursued and said yes to the various opportunities that have arisen, always choosing to work on the most interesting projects that have come along.
I love the intellectual and lifestyle freedoms associated with academic research. However, a career in academia also comes with long-term job insecurities and the need to constantly prove your worth to potential employers and funding agencies. So far, the positives of my job have far outweighed the negatives.
Sam crossing Billefjorden, Svalbard with colleagues from the University Centre of Svalbard and Monash University to explore the syn-rift stratigraphy and structures of this Carboniferous basin. In the event of going overboard, the emergency wetsuits would keep them alive in the freezing water long enough to be pulled out.
What are the best parts about your job? What are the hardest parts?
The best parts of my job are the freedom to pursue the research topics I find most interesting, the opportunity to work with interesting people from across the globe, and the privilege to conduct fieldwork in far-away, exotic and fascinating parts of our planet. So far in my career, I have had the fortune of working in a variety of places, including outback Australia, Germany, Oman, Malawi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Madagascar, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
The hardest part of my job is the lack of job and funding security, which result in me having to continually apply for new positions, contract extensions and research grants.
Mt Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mt Nyiragongo is the world’s largest lava lake, at over 300 m in diameter, and has formed due to a combination of a large mantle plume that impinges beneath the East African crust and the thinning of the lithosphere due to prolonged continental rifting in the region.
How well did your degree prepare you for your career path?
Studying Earth science provided me with a wealth of invaluable analytical, professional and life experiences that have helped shape the person and geoscientist I am today.
In addition to providing me with the general Earth science knowledge I use daily in my job, it taught me to be objective and self-critical. It informed me about the interconnectedness of natural and Earth systems. And it gave me the confidence to channel my interests and skills into seeking answers to fundamental questions about the world we live in.
Three Turkana boys and their dog whom Sam stumbled across in far northern Kenya as he searched for a river to take a detrital sand sample as part of a campaign to better understand this ancient portion of the East African Rift System.
What does your career progression look like from here?
I am at the very early stages of my career, as I finished my PhD just 2 years ago. Thus, my future in academia is uncertain, as I have yet to obtain a long-term or permanent position. This is both exciting and daunting.
In the near future, I aim to obtain long-term (3-years or greater) funding to cover both my salary and research funding. Doing so would allow me to independently pursue my research interests, expand my analytical skillset, and at the same time, make me significantly more competitive for future permanent university research positions. However, knowing academia is very competitive, I am also aware that I may have to transition into one of the many other geoscience industries one day, which too will have their own positives and rewards, no doubt.
What advice would you give to students in your study area trying to decide on a career path?
Know yourself. Every career path has pros and cons, so it’s important to choose a professional life which suits you and your characteristics best. Jobs can all too easily be a source of overall stress rather than pleasure, so it’s important to honestly assess any potential career decision in the context of both your personal strengths and weaknesses to ensure that work has a net-positive effect on your life.
And don’t be afraid to fail or experiment. No matter how much research you do ahead of time, you’ll never truly know if a career suits you until you try it out. Even if a particular job or industry doesn’t work out for you, the experiences you obtain will only help inform your next career decision.