13th IRM Conference on Rock Magnetism

In-person and Virtual Meeting

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis - June 5-8, 2023

Tate Hall in the Spring — John T. Tate Hall of Physics, home to the IRM

General Information

Iron minerals in the rocks of Earth's crust, its sedimentary cover and within speleothems and archaeological materials contain fossilized records of ancient geomagnetic field activity, and in their physical and chemical characteristics they hold evidence of geological and environmental processes and events that have affected them. This conference will explore the state of the art in magnetic studies of natural materials, examine methods for extracting paleomagnetic and paleoenvironmental information through magnetic analysis, and assess what such studies are telling us about the history and workings of our planet and the solar system.

Dates and Session Format

The 13^th IRM Conference on Rock Magnetism will be held in-person at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and virtually on Zoom, from June 5- 8 2023. The meeting will feature four three-hour oral sessions, two keynote speakers and a poster session. The oral sessions are by invitation and in-person only, but we welcome poster presentations from in-person conference participants on any topics in rock and paleomagnetism. The conference format is designed to be interactive and in-depth, allowing extended periods of open discussion following invited lead talks on selected topics.

Conference registration

Conference registration is now for remote attendance only, please register at this link.

Oral Session Information

There will be four oral sessions this year:

Iron Cycling in Natural and Anthropogenic Environments
- Conveners: Andrew Roberts (Australian National University) and Robert Hatfield (University of Florida)
Frontiers in Magnetic Microscopy and Micromagnetic Modeling
- Conveners: Rashida Doctor (Institute for Rock Magnetism) and Roger Fu (Harvard University)
Fundamentals in Rock Magnetism - in memoriam of Özden Özdemir
- Conveners: Julie Bowles (University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee) and Suzanne McEnroe (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
Grand Challenges in Paleogeography and Tectonics
- Conveners: Dario Bilardello (Institute for Rock Magnetism) and Peter Lippert (University of Utah)

Keynote Speakers

Timothy Lyons (University of California, Riverside): "Iron cycling through time: Pathways, products, and relationships with co-evolving life"

Emily Cooperdock (University of Southern California): "Dating magnetite in ultramafic systems: a tale of tears, trace elements, and unexpected ages"

All presentations will be uploaded to our YouTube channel. There you will find each session organized as playlists.

Pre-conference FORC workshop, Monday, June 5, 2023.

The Workshop will cover the basics of First Order Reversal Curves (FORCs) through to advanced data acquisition protocols and analysis techniques.

Community Workshop, Thursday, June 8, 2023.

Implementation of Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusivity (JEDI) Principles within the US based paleo- and rock magnetism community.

This workshop aims to identify community-wide strategies for improving justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion within the rock magnetism, paleomagnetism, geomagnetism, and electromagnetism communities. Because this IRM conference is funded primarily by the US National Science Foundation, it is necessary to focus on DEI primarily within the United States and Canada. However, we welcome researchers from across the globe to participate in this important discussion. It will begin with a summary of diversity data from our disciplines collected prior to the meeting (e.g., from AGU, IAGA VI, recent publications, and a recent public survey). Participants will be invited to present examples of ongoing DEI activities at their home institutions in which they are involved that are potentially scalable across our community. The main product from this workshop will be a white paper to be shared with NSF and other organizations that identifies multiple cross-institutional strategies for improving diversity within our discipline in ways that amplify our individual efforts.

All questions about the meeting can be addressed to Maxwell Brown at irm@umn.edu. We are looking forward to seeing many of you online.

Code of conduct

Everyone associated with the Conference and associated Workshops should be treated with respect and consideration and held to the highest ethical and professional standards of conduct:
- Be respectful, fair and civil;
- Speak candidly and truthfully;
- Engage in open, honest, and collegial intellectual debate;
- Value a diversity of views and opinions and criticize ideas, not the individuals presenting them.
- All forms of harassment, illegal discrimination, threats, or violence are unacceptable behaviors

Respect the laws and regulations of the University of Minnesota, as well as the advice from the staff and the Conference Organizers and Conveners.
The Conference Organizers and Conveners are open to reports of any unacceptable behavior.

We kindly acknowledge contributions from our sponsors:

Sponsor logos for the 13th IRM Conference on Rock Magnetism — Clockwise from the Top Left: The U.S. National Science Foundation, Quantum Design, 2G Enterprises, Lake Shore Cryotronics, AGICO, ASC Scientific, Quantum Catalyzer.