In the summer of 2025, the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (DEPS) successfully hosted a one-month secondary school research programme on volcanology, with participants from St. Paul’s Convent School. The programme is developed and led by Prof. Weiran Li (assistant professor, founder of the VRock Laboratory, and chief curator of the Stephen Hui Geological Museum), with assistance from postdocs and postgraduate students in her research group, including Dr. Marcus Phua, Dr. Yajie Gao, Dr. Houbin Chen, Ms. Xiaoyu Liu, and Mr. Mike Ausejo.

 

 

The participants of the 2025 summer programme include seven students from St. Paul’s Convent School who have great enthusiasm for earth sciences and the geological history of Hong Kong, and their geography teacher, Mr. Chau Wang Fung “David”. The group won the gold medal at the 2^nd Hong Kong Inter-Secondary School Geology Quest in 2024.

 

The student participants were provided with two topics and divided into two teams based on their interests: Team Petrology and Team Machine Learning. Team Petrology explored the physical, optical, and chemical properties of common minerals in volcanic rocks and gained hands-on experience in using optical microscopes and an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) at HKU. Team Machine Learning explored the principles and applications of machine learning approaches and user-friendly computer software to identify the sources of volcanic eruption products and reconstruct the pre-eruption magma storage conditions.

 

Practical exercises of Team Petrology (left) observing volcanic rocks using the electron microprobe at DEPS, and Team Machine Learning (right) analyzing geochemical data using machine learning software.

 

The summer programme concluded with students presenting their learning outcomes and reflections on how this experience has improved their understanding of volcanology and geology and will influence their future career paths. A student representative, Aimey Leung, expressed her viewpoints: "The course had completely created a whole new perspective for me, towards the field of geology, and I never knew how machine learning techniques and data analysis could integrate with volcanology that deeply. I am really grateful for the team’s dedication towards the project, and I’ve learned a lot." The student leaders of the two teams - Angie Li and Evia Tai – summarised that "Despite finding geography knowledge in textbooks rather monotonous, the summer programme reignited my interest in volcanology by providing hands-on experience in examining rock samples using advanced instruments", and "I've definitely developed a greater sense of curiosity for geology and volcanology, and thus my heartfelt gratitude must be given out to our tutors."

 

We congratulate the students from St. Paul’s Convent School for accomplishing the summer programme, and we encourage more secondary school students to explore science and receive high-quality science education at HKU.

 

Project summary presentations of Team Petrology (left) and Team Machine Learning