On July the 3^rd of this year, PRIMOR organised its first mini-symposium entitled Earthfest, which also coincided with the opening of the annual Grahamstown Arts Festival for 2014. Earthfest served to mark a number of significant recent events surrounding our unit, namely:

• The arrival for two months of Professor Timothy Lyons and his family from the University of California at Riverside, as a Hugh Kelly Visiting Research Fellow in the Geology Department at Rhodes University for 2014. Prof. Lyons has been a close collaborator of Prof. Tsikos since 2007, and his visit is bound to take that collaboration to exciting new levels, as part and parcel of the research activities of PRIMOR.
• The simultaneous visits of Prof. Paul Mason from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and Prof. Nic Beukes from the University of Johannesburg.  Prof Mason is himself a close collaborator of Prof. Tsikos and PRIMOR, whereas Prof Nic Beukes is external advisor of PRIMOR and leader of CIMERA, one of the five most recently established Centres of Excellence, hosted at the University of Johannesburg and funded by the NRF/DST. PRIMOR is one of the formal collaborating partners of CIMERA.
• A luncheon to celebrate the official launch of PRIMOR. The luncheon was held on the same day as Earthfest, and was attended by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Development, Dr P. Clayton; acting Deputy Dean of Science, Prof T. Booth; acting Head of the Geology Department, Prof. A. Götz; former and current delegates from the primary industry sponsor of PRIMOR, Mr W. Grobbelaar (ARM), Mr P. Crous (ASSMANG, retired) and Mrs C. van Der Merwe (ASSORE); several academics from across the entire Science faculty; and all students and staff members of PRIMOR.

Details concerning the program of Earthfest can be found in the brochure below. It is anticipated that Earthfest will become an annual fixture in the Geology Department, involving presentations both by visiting scientists as well as staff and student members of PRIMOR alike.

‌?

‌                           

from left to right: Timothy Lyons, Annette E. Götz, Nick Beukes, Paul Mason.

‌

from left to right: Papadopoulos Vlassis, Timothy Lyons, Xolane Mhlanga, Annette E. Götz, David Cousins,  Nick Beukes, William Moloto, Hari Tsikos, Paul Mason, Paul Oonk, Sihle Rafuza, Janet Fd Brug (MSc visiting student)