Brighton sparks Ruby’s volcanic interest

Geography graduate Ruby Coates has had an exciting time since leaving the University of Brighton, working her way around the world including internships in Brazil and Patagonia. She kindly shared some of her experiences in the midst of her travels. Her undergraduate degree experience ignited a passion for volcanology and she begins her masters degree in the subject at Bristol University this autumn.

“I initially enrolled on the Geography BA course at the University of Brighton but quickly realised it was not for me, and I switched to the BSc and was happy to be able to opt to learn more about our physical environment and landscape.

“I have always been interested in natural hazards and soon realised on the second-year field trip to Sicily that my interest lay with volcanoes. It was fascinating to spend a day on Mount Etna with the volcanologist Dr Boris Behncke who taught us about the volcano and the local communities. It was amazing to learn how societies could live so peacefully in close proximity to such powerful natural landforms. This trip led me to base my dissertation around Mount Etna and the communities living in the area.

“In my third year, I was fortunate enough to return to Sicily to carry out my project research and work alongside Boris at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and out in the field. It was amazing to see the work carried out to monitor the volcano and educate the communities. I found my dissertation to be a really interesting and important study that identified a widespread unpreparedness amongst the population in the event of an emergency. I found this very hard to believe and saw that further research is essential in this field. This is why I have chosen to study volcanology and I hope to go on to work with governmental organisations in managing natural hazards and be involved in risk communication amongst vulnerable communities.

“I was recommended the course by Dr Jake Ciborowski and received references from Jon Caplin and Chris Carey, all lecturers at the University of Brighton. I am thrilled to be accepted onto the course at Bristol University, the city where I was brought up.”