07/30/2018
Japan has always been my childhood dream. I would have never expected my dreams to come true so fast! But the word "dream" is more about our research because a year ago I clearly realized that I want to continue my career in Cosmochemistry major. So when I was admitted for MISIP 2018 I was in heaven! I got my prize much earlier than I thought.
Chondrules (tiny particles which came to us from deep space and time) of Allende and Murchison meteorites are our objects to explore. My partner and I tried to choose the most different ones and we hit the jackpot because we found CAI (Ca-Al-inclusion which is a separate class because of chemistry, mineralogy and even age! Older than ordinary chondrules!).
We are doing the real research and use all possible sources of IPM for this. Started from brief observations by using the optical microscope we focused on SEM and got more than 400 spectrums of major elements (and all from 4 tiny thin sections, less than 1 mm!). Also a lot of hours we've been wearing chemical suits at the clean room, decomposed our chondrules and meteorite material till chemical elements. After we used ICPMS to get a concentration of major and trace elements. The 4th week was more for LA-ICPMS and separating Rb, Sr, Sm, and Nd for future isotope chronology.
If be honest, most of this equipment I saw only from a distance or on photos and never had a work experience such as this. That why our IPM colleagues are always near and ready to help and teach us (or prevent a catastrophe, haha). an incredible amount of information comes from their lectures and talks! We were so lucky that even have an opportunity to have a few lectured by professor Noboru Nakamura.
My personal experience (except everything above) is our international team. We all from different countries and backgrounds, but it gives an area for interaction. Not just our knowledge (physic, computer science, geology), but also as a style of how to organize your data (thanks, guys!).
Of course, MISIP is not only work but also a great chance to explore Japan. I feel like I lost part of my heart during Gion Festival in Kyoto (and part will be lost in quiet and cozy Misasa).
Alexandra Ostroverkhova