The New Lyell Society is the society which Earth Science students and staff join. Events are open to all members to attend and participate in.
You can stay in touch with the Society’s events in the following ways:
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Keep an eye out in the department for posters and flyers
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Search for the New Lyell Society @ RHUL on Facebook
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Click on the Events tab of this page
The Lyell Society’s committee for 2012-2013 is:
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President
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Huw Richards
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Secretary
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Ciaran Gilbert
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Treasurer
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Alice Moor
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Social Secretary
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Helayna Wade
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1st year representatives
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Ben Marsden & Niall Mullins
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2nd year representatives
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Rebecca Holder & Kayleigh McGeoch
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3rd year representatives
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Joe Millward & Ava Walentowicz
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4th year representatives
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Rehemat Bhatia & Kate Donovan
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MSc representative
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Beth Wilkes
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PhD representative
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Sarah Brown & Hannah Johnson
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Staff representative
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Christina Manning
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Each year the society organizes a range of interesting guest lectures and fun social events.
Guest lectures: The Society hosts around 5 guest lectures each term (usually every other week), presenting research on a wide range of geological subjects. Guest lectures are normally held on Thursdays, starting at 5:15pm in the Queen’s Lecture Theatre. Talks last ~30-45mins, and are by preceded by refreshments in the foyer of the Queen’s Building from 4:45, and followed by a trip to a local pub.
Social events: The Society organises many social events throughout the academic year, e.g. BBQs, Pizza & Quiz nights and Pub Crawls. Highlights of the Society’s calendar include:
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Lyell Day: A day long symposium of high profile guest lectures revolving around a chosen theme (e.g. Ice Planet, Beyond Fossil Fuels), followed by the legendary black tie Lyell Dinner.
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Ceilidh Dance: an evening of food, whiskey and Scottish Dancing.
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Field Trip: to a location within the UK not visited by the degree courses. These are light hearted trips, with an emphasis on the social side. Previous field trips have been held to the Isle of White, the Peak District and Lyme Regis.
The social event calendar for 2012-13 will include the following:
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Date:
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Event:
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Late September
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Introductory BBQ & trip to Liquid
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Early October
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Pub Golf around Englefield Green
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Mid October
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Social
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Early November
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Halloween event
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Mid November
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Ceilidh
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Late November
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Pizza Quiz
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Early December
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Christmas Event
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Mid January
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Laser Quest/Bowling
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Mid February
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Social
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Early March
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Annual Lyell Day & Lyell Dinner
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Mid March
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Pizza Quiz & Elections
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Late March
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End of Term BBQ
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Easter
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Field Trip
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Check out the Lyell Society’s Google calendar for exact dates of our events.
New Lyell Society Google Calendar|
The Society’s flagship scientific and social event!
In 1998 the annual Lyell Dinner was expanded to include a Lyell Day. On that day distinguished lecturers from the UK and abroad are invited to present the latest research on a geological theme selected by the committee. Talks are specifically geared towards the undergraduate audience. Previous themes include:
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1998
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Subduction
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1999
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Ridges
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2000
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Catastrophes and preservation
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2001
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Oceans & Atmospheres: Climate Change
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2002
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Journey from the Centre of the Earth
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2003
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Out of this World: Planetary Geology
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2004
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Raging Planet
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2005
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Ice Planet
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2006
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Beyond Fossil Fuels: The Energy and Climate Crisis
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2007
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Out of Asia
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2008
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Evolution of the Universe
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2009
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Catastrophic changes, and their potential impacts of life
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2010
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25 years of Geology at Royal Holloway University of London
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2011
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Recent developments and progress in the earth sciences in the next 25 years
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2012
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Dynamic Earth: the fall & rise of a Supercontinent
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2013
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The Impact of Geology on Life & Evolution
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The day’s symposium is followed by the Lyell Dinner, a formal black tie dinner held in the spectacular Founder’s Picture Gallery, followed by a live band and dancing.
Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875) was born near Kirriemuir Scotland. He was a great traveller and field geologist and was Professor of Geology at King's College London from 1831-1833. Lyell created major divisions of the Tertiary based on his knowledge of the geology of southern England and the Paris Basin. The Eocene was defined from his analysis of fossil molluscs from Barton-on-Sea.
Charles Lyell became one of the most eminent scientists of the Victorian Age. He grew up in comfortable surroundings, and encouraged by his parents, developed a keen observation of the natural world around him. He learned the importance of geological observations in the field and the value of precise and accurate recording of geological information. This led him to travel extensively across Europe and North America to examine a wide range of geological phenomena.
The knowledge and ideas that Lyell gained from his own field observations and from fellow geologists were the foundations for his great work: "Principles of Geology", first published in 1830. This book illustrated his awareness of the importance of relative sea level changes in sedimentary processes, which forms the basis for modern sequence stratigraphy.
Lyell was appointed to the Chair of Geology at King's College London in February 1831, and proceeded to present a series of 12 lectures based on his recently published and already popular book. The lectures were open to the public and attracted large audiences of between 100 and 300, including several peers in the Geological Society. They created a great deal of interest and were generally very well received.
However, the following year the King's College authorities decided not to allow women to attend the lectures apart from the Introduction because they were considered a distraction for students. Lyell's audiences dwindled to around 15 and consequently, Lyell resigned from his position in October 1833.
Despite the brevity of his tenure, Lyell firmly established geology as a scientific study at King's College. The Lyell Chair in Geology was established in his honour, and was held by a succession of distinguished geology professors until 1985. In a major reorganisation of the University of London, the King's College Geology Department merged with Bedford College and Chelsea College, and moved to the new purpose-built Queen's Building at Royal Holloway. Thus the Lyell Chair moved to Royal Holloway, University of London where it was held by Prof. Bob Howie (mineralogist)(1985-1992), Prof. John Mather (hydrogeologist) (1992-2002) and is presently held by Prof Martin Menzies (geochemist)(2002-)