Virginia Ettwein
I am part of the department’s team of research and technical experts, working across both the Geofacilities and ICP Suite SRFs.
I can usually be found in the analytical labs up on L2.
In Geofacilities, I oversee the Earth Sciences Microscope and Imaging Suite, supporting staff and students using our research-grade petrological microscopes and imaging equipment, as well as advising on and assisting with sample preparation across the wider geological facilities labs.
In the ICP Trace Element Suite, I provide research and technical expertise for solution-based elemental analysis using our inductively coupled plasma (ICP) instruments, helping researchers get the most effective use from both the facilities and their samples.
For researchers within our department, even more information about the Earth Sciences SRFs and laboratories can be found on the Staff Intranet.
Further resources to support departmental users of the Microscope and Imaging Suite can be found on a dedicated page in the Geofacilities Group website.
ORCID: 0009-0000-1874-6079
Areas of particular expertise:
Light microscopy and imaging
Major, minor and trace element analysis
Precision-driven laboratory workflows and contamination control
Marine sediments
Academic background:
PhD (2005)
The Effective Moisture History of the Amazon Basin for the Last 40,000 Years, Reconstructed from ODP Site 942 (Leg 155) on the Amazon Fan.
Supervisor: Prof. Mark Maslin, Environmental Change Research Centre, UCL, UK.
MSc Quaternary Science (2000; Distinction)
Examining the Effects of the Intensification of the Northern Hemisphere Glaciation on Productivity Within the Benguela Upwelling System: A Study Using Diatoms and Nitrogen Isotopes (ODP Site 1083, Leg 175).
Supervisors: Prof. Mark Maslin and Dr Cathy Stickley, Environmental Change Research Centre, UCL awarded jointly with Centre for Quaternary Research, RHUL, UK.
BSc (Hons) Geography (1998)
A Palaeolimnological (Diatom) Investigation of Eutrophication at Upper Talley Lake, Wales.
Supervisors: Prof. Laurence Carvalho and Prof. Tim Allott, Environmental Change Research Centre, UCL.
