An Erasmus student has paid tribute to staff at the University of Aberdeen's School of Geosciences for the part they played in his success in a top international geology competition.
Daniele Maestrelli took the award for Best Presentation at the Petroleum Geology Student Contest, which was held last week in Matera, Italy. The event, which was sponsored by the Italian Geological Society and Shell, is held to showcase the best examples of research from Petroleum Geology PhD students.
Daniele, who is studying for his PhD at Florence University, was awarded £3000 for his presentation entitled ‘Seismic expression of large scale fluid escape pipes using time lapses seismic surveys: examples from the Loyal Field (Scotland, UK)’
His research was conceived and developed while he was studying at Aberdeen under the supervision of Dr David Iacopini and Dr Clare Bond from the University’s School of Geosciences. He was at the University through a work placement funded by the European Union through the Erasmus + programme.
Describing his time in Aberdeen, Daniele said: “When my Italian supervisors told me that I could spend part of my PhD working at the University’s School of Geosciences I was surprised but delighted. The School has a reputation for excellence, and when I arrived in Aberdeen I found that my expectations were completely true.
“The School is a perfect environment in which to learn, and I met fantastic people doing a great job. I’d really like to thank David Iacopini, Clare Bond, and all of the staff for their help and guidance, which was crucial in helping me win the prize for Best Presentation at the competition.
“I really enjoyed my time in Aberdeen and hope to return and work with the fantastic team there in the future.”
Congratulating Daniele on his success, Dr Iacopini said: “Daniele is an extremely talented student, and it was a pleasure to work with him while he was here at the University as an Erasmus student.
“His study focused on the description and detailed imaging of large scale structures from the Loyal field using information released by BP to our department, and it is fitting that he has been rewarded for all his hard work and innovative thinking. I congratulate him on winning the prize for Best Presentation, and wish him every success in the future.”