Sarah Kenworthy

I am currently undertaking a NERC funded and PDS award (President Doctoral Scholarship) PhD studentship in the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the University of Manchester and I am having an amazing time! I am studying the Bowland Shale with a focus on the diagenesis and burial history of a major UK hydrocarbon reservoir. As part of my research I am part of the Basin Studies group at Manchester which incorporates all aspects of the sedimentary basin system, from source to sink and from micro- to macro-scales.

Through the DTP training programme in my first year I hope to participate in a wide range of activities from short training courses held at the Natural History Museum and the Diamond Light Source at Harwell to attending an Organic Geochemistry module and Academic Writing course at Manchester. For this year I am the student representative on the DTP board which involves putting forward feedback, concerns and suggestions at the board meetings gaining valuable experience of the administrative role within the DTP. As well as being part of the NERC DTP I am a BUFI (BGS University Funding Initiative) student through this I have access not only to my supervisor’s expertise at the BGS but also a range of opportunities from BGS training courses to contributing to a science festival.

By the end of the first year I hope to have attended four conferences and have given at least one talk discussing my preliminary results and research aims. I hope to continue enjoying my studies as much as I have so far and to learn as many new skills as possible through lab work, field work and volunteer work.