Published: May 24, 2024
Parth Shah, a final year PhD student supervised by Prof. Nicolas Waldmann, is nearing the end of his doctoral studies and tries to expose his research as much as possible participating at various scientific conferences and publishing papers in peer-reviewed journals. His research interests lie in multi-proxy multi-archive (lacustrine and marine) paleoclimate reconstruction with a special focus on understanding the impact of climate change on different components of the ecosystem.
Parth has presented his research at various scientific conferences like the International Meeting of Sedimentology (IAS) in 2023, the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) in 2023, the International Association of Limnogeology – International Paleolimnology Association (IAL-IPA) in 2022, the European Geosciences Union (EGU) in 2022 and 2021, the Israel Geological Society (IGS) annual meeting 2022, and the Indian Quaternary Congress (IQC) in 2022.
“My PhD work interests the scientific community because it is innovative. It focuses on reconstructing the centennial-scale climate variability associated with changes in the intensity of the monsoon during the Holocene over the southern Arabian Desert”, Parth says. “My research highlights the utilization of elemental concentration, mineralogy, grain size analysis, TOC/TC measurements, and lipid biomarkers (alkanes) in conjunction with compound-specific isotopes (δ13C and δD) and ostracod assemblage (and isotopes δ13C and δ18O) on two lacustrine sites in Yemen”.
During his studies at the University of Haifa, Parth has already published two papers from his PhD work in journals like “Science of the Total Environment” and “Frontiers of Earth Sciences”. He is also a winner of multiple awards – Parth has won the IAS 2023 postgraduate grant, the Visiting Graduate Student Program (VGSP), and the NSF-funded CSD facility in Minnesota. He also received the PBC fellowship at the beginning of his PhD studies and various travel grants for attending conferences from the IAS and the Graduate Studies Authority of the University of Haifa.
Parth readily admits that the Marine Geosciences Department helped him develop the skills needed for success in science. “What makes the Department truly unique is its strong emphasis on collaboration – it encourages students to work together and present their research at prestigious conferences. The weekly seminar series, featuring researchers from various disciplines worldwide, adds a distinctive touch, creating an environment that is both intellectually stimulating and globally connected. The Department students are from different countries and diverse religious backgrounds making it an ideal environment for an international student. During my studies, I witnessed equal opportunities for people from different educational backgrounds, as well. For example, I, having majored in chemistry, found it easy to opt for various marine and sedimentological courses, which were helpful for my PhD studies”.
In his spare time, Parth prefers to combine hobbies and science. For example, while going for a run or hiking in Mount Carmel National Park, he explores different geological formations and finds suitable sites for studying and future surveys.
After submitting his PhD thesis within the next few months, Parth plans to pursue postdoctoral studies keeping working with his current supervisor, Prof. Waldmann.
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Parth Shah, a PhD student supervised by Prof. Nicolas Waldmann, is a multi-award-winning scientist who presented his research at various scientific conferences and published papers in peer-reviewed journals. In his studies, he aims to reconstruct centennial-scale climate variability, and in his spare time, he prefers to combine hobbies and science. In the future, Parth is planning to pursue postdoctoral studies under the guidance of his current supervisor.
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