Matt Divers

Email: 2251460d@student.gla.ac.uk

Research title: Quantifying the mineralogical controls on precious metal enrichment in the Rum layered intrusion, NW Scotland

Research Summary

Research overview

My research is predominantly focussed on microscopy, microanalysis, and the use of machine-learning (ML) tools in analysis, to characterise enrichment of the platinum group elements (PGE) in the Rum Eastern Layered Intrusion (ELI).

Deployment of unsupervised ML workflows (including dimensionality reduction and clustering) has been used in the mineral/phase segmentation of optical and EDS map datasets. More recent work has involved the fusion of hyperspectral (e.g., EDS) 2D datasets, with 3D volume datasets from X-ray computed tomography (XCT), through combined use of unsupervised ML and deep-learning semantic segmentation. My research has aimed to bridge the gap in analytical methods required to characterise minority populations from a handspecimen scale down to the nano-scale, with the ultimate goal of understanding nano-scale PGE mineralisation in the ELI, Rum.

 

Collaborations

  • Other research on the unit 10 peridotite layer of the ELI.
    • With Dr Sammy Griffin, Dr Joshua Franz Einsle, Prof. Marian Holness (University of Cambridge).
  • Constraining the presence of eco-toxic elements in steel slags.
    • Co-author to Faisal Khudhur, Dr John MacDonald, Dr Joshua Franz Einsle, Dr Mark Wildman
  • Synchrotron XCT experiments at Diamond Light Source
    • Battling drought conditions for Sub-Saharan African cowpea crops.
    • With Dr Stephen Chivasa, Dr Katherine Dobson.

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Supervisors

External supervisors

  • Prof. Brian O'Driscoll. University of Ottawa, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
  • Dr Katherine Dobson. University of Strathclyde, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Department of Chemical Process Engineering.

Conferences

  • Tomogrpahy for Scientific Advancement (ToScA), Glasgow, 2023. Member of local organising comittee.
  • International Platinum Symposium (IPS), Cardiff, 2023. 3rd place award for early career presentations.
  • European Microbeam Analysis Society (EMAS) Workshop, Kraków, 2023. Poster and oral presentation during early career scientists session.
  • Royal Microscopy Society (RMS), Virtual Meeting, 2021. 
  • Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group (VMSG), Virtual Symposium, 2021.
  • Scottish Microscopy Society (SMS), Virtual Symposium, 2020. Awarded for best talk in my session.

Additional Information

Part-time X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) Technical Support, at the University of Strathclyde, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

  • Email: matthew.divers@strath.ac.uk