Conference: 14th Institute for Rock Magnetism Conference

Rock Magnetism is a research field within Earth and Planetary Sciences. It helps scientists study Earth's interior, its crust, past plate movements, critical mineral deposits, and processes on other planets. The 14th Institute for Rock Magnetism conference brings together prominent scientists to discuss state-of-the-art research and ideas on these topics. The themes of this meeting include using rock magnetism to find and understand critical mineral resources, the use of artificial intelligence to improve the interpretation of data and increase data analysis efficiency, and the magnetic properties of rocks from the Moon and Mars. Research on magnetism and magnetic materials is advancing in geophysics, geochemistry, nanoscience, and condensed-matter physics, especially where these fields overlap. Interdisciplinary discussions on recent developments in fundamental rock magnetism and its applications in geosciences will enhance our understanding of Earth's geological history, critical mineral resources, planetary processes, and the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning to fully harness rock magnetic data. A three-day conference for 50 participants will be held in June 2025 at the University of Minnesota and will consist of two keynote lectures on topics at the intersection of geoscience disciplines, 16 extended presentations across four thematic sessions, a poster session, and a workshop on using newly developed rock magnetic data analysis software. The conference will bring together senior scientists, early career scientists, and students, with the aim of providing younger scientists the opportunity to build connections with established scientists to enhance their education and develop their careers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.