DR VERITY NORMINGTON
Project Geologist, Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS)
What is your current role?
I am a Project Geologist with the Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS). I work in the Basin Geoscience team and the majority of work I do is concentrated in the Amadeus Basin that covers the southern part of the NT from Alice Springs to the SA/NT border. I am part of the mapping team that goes out and investigates the surface exposures of all the rocks and creates maps and reports about the rocks of the basin and the basin itself. A mapping geologist has many feathers in their caps, the feathers in my cap include sedimentology, stratigraphy, regolith geology, landscape evolution, geochronology, minex geochemistry as well as basin evolution and petroleum systems.
What has your career path been like?
I started with NTGS 5 years ago when I moved from Adelaide to Alice Springs. My career path was in one way traditional but in another way not so traditional. After failing high school due to illness and having a year off I decided to go back to school and finish year 12 and become a lab technician. I did geology as a year 12 subject and immediately fell in love with it and changed my plans to do a Bachelor of Science to become a geologist.
My time at university was interrupted several times due to needing surgery due to Chron’s Disease which meant having to have whole semesters off at a time. Despite these interruptions and with the help of the academic staff at the University of Adelaide I was able to finish my Bachelor of Science majoring in Surficial Geology. I then went on to do Honours while working at a supermarket and as a cadet geologist and then graduate geologist with the Geological Survey of South Australia. I then went straight into a PhD at the University of Adelaide.
My PhD, looking into the mineral implications of glacial sediments of South Australia was funded by the Deep Exploration Technologies Cooperative Research Centre (DET CRC) which gave me the opportunity to work with and build a network of Earth Scientists around Australian across many disciplines. During my PhD, I also worked briefly as an exploration geologist for CAMECO working DIDO (Drive In, Drive Out) in the Strzelecki Desert. I also had the opportunity to present at several International conferences in Europe as well as many in Australia. However it was not without its challenges my time as a PhD was interrupted by breaks for surgeries and illness due to Chron’s Disease.
I was in the final stages of my PhD when I applied for my current role at NTGS and in September 2013 I started working full time in Alice Springs while still completing my PhD remotely. In mid-2018, some 5 years later, I handed in my PhD and graduated. Again this was not without its challenges, doing a PhD remotely certainly had its challenges, the worst of which is the feeling of isolation no matter how responsive your supervisory panel is. Having very busy field seasons meant that for almost 5 months of the year I was not able to progress my PhD at all. After another period of illness a prolonged hospital stay and surgery I finally decided to put some major effort into finishing my PhD. Now that I have finished my PhD I am able to devote a lot of my time to my volunteer roles as secretary of the Governing Council of the Geological Society of Australia (GSA) and as Ambassador for Early Career Geoscientists for the Australian Geoscience Council (AGC).
What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you?
Take every opportunity that is given to you and to take the risk – I would not be living and working in Alice Springs if I had not followed this advice.
What do you enjoy most about your job/research?
I enjoy the variety of what I do, the advantage of working in a smaller geological survey is that you get to dip your toe into many different aspects of geoscience as well as other aspects such as doing technical edits and planning field campaigns where you have to liase with land holders and other community stakeholders. One day I might be writing a geochronology report and the next I’m participating in a workshop with industry where we are sharing our findings and understandings of the geology and learning from each other.
What does a typical day of work involve for you?
There is no typical day in the office for me as I have so many different aspects of my job. A typical day in the office for me might involve doing linework for a map we are creating or doing a technical edit on a map that is almost finished, it could be writing a report on geochronology data that has come in from an external lab or writing explanatory notes to go with the maps that are in production. I might be at the core shed looking at a drillhole that needs a stratigraphic revision so it reflects the most recent understanding of the stratigraphy of the basin. If its field season I could be traversing across a ridge walking through the Neoproterozoic and into the Cambrian observing how the lithology changes as the climate changed and the fauna evolved from Stromatolites to hard bodied sea dwelling creature.
“Be resilient, be patient, accepting of yourself and most importantly be kind to yourself and make sure you are doing what you need to do to stay physically and mentally healthy.
What advice would you give someone starting out in the same field?
Don’t pigeon hole yourself as one type of geologist, try your hand at as many different types of geology as you can. You may find your absolute passion and/or your niche and your people or you might just find yourself doing something different every day.
Is there anything you find difficult/challenging? If so, how do you deal with this, is there any advice you have for someone in a similar position?
The obvious challenge for me is working full time in a sometimes physically demanding job while managing a Chronic Illness. Many doctors and health care professionals told me that being a field geologist was not possible and that I should change careers. I have been living with a chronic illness for almost 20 years now and I have never let it stop me from doing anything. Things might take longer to finish or they have to be done slightly differently but there is always way to realise your dreams and follow your passions.
For others in a similar position I would say be resilient, be patient, accepting of yourself and most importantly be kind to yourself and make sure you are doing what you need to do to stay physically and mentally healthy. There is no shame is taking some time out for yourself and allowing yourself to heal.
Where are you hoping to end up in your career?
I love working for a government survey, you stand on both sides of the academia/industry fence. The work we do is very much focused to what industry need and want but at the same time we have the freedom to investigate things we find interesting. I want to be able to stay in government surveys but I would love to be able to lead a team and share my passion for geoscience and also for project management with others. Inspiring people to be their best self is inspiring to me.
You can follow Verity’s work on Twitter and Linkedin. She was also recently featured as one of Science and Technology Australia’s ‘Superstars of STEM’!
