IGA WORKSHOP Saturday, 11th June, 2011
Presenters: Dr. Martin Feely (UCG) & Dr. Alessandra Costanzo (UCG)
VENUE: Earth and Ocean Sciences (School of Natural Sciences), NUI Galway
TIME: 11:00am to 4:00pm
REGISTRATION: It is necessary to pre-register with excursions secretary Dan O’Shea by email, 
ASAP
A unique opportunity to examine and learn about gemstones!
This workshop will be led by Dr Martine Feely and Dr Alessandra Costanzo and it will take place on Saturday 11 June 2011 in Earth and Ocean Sciences (School of Natural Sciences) at NUI Galway.Earth and Ocean Sciences are based in the main Quadrangle of the university: when you enter its archway turn left and the entrance is directly in front of you. The workshop is scheduled to run from 11.00 to 16.00, with a break for lunch (there are convenient cafes/restaurants both on and off campus). The schedule will allow participants to travel from, and return to, Dublin and other centres on the Saturday without the need for an overnight stay. There are suitable public transport options available. On the other hand you may wish to make a weekend of it and, if so, Galway has many attractive accommodation offers.
ABSTRACT
This one-day event provides an introduction to the science of gemmology. It will cover a range of laboratory based techniques used to identify gemstones. Provision will be made for participants to gain hands-on experience with identification protocols using a suite of gemstones. The teaching collection at NUI Galway contains 200 cut stones including diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds! Introductory lectures will be combined with laboratory demonstrations and practicals including an expose on gemstone cutting. Participants will examine selected gemstones using a range of gemmological instruments including the gemmological microscope, refractometer, spectroscope, polariscope, dichroscope and conoscope.
Brief biographical details of the Workshop leaders Dr Feely is a senior lecturer in the School of Natural Sciences, NUI Galway, and is adjunct Professor of Geological and Environmental Sciences at James Madison University, Virginia. He teaches BSc degree courses in petrology and mineralogy and directs an adult education evening diploma course in gemmology at NUIG. He also contributes to a number of summer schools for US university students in western Ireland. His current research interests include: (1) fluid inclusion studies of a) Granite related molybdenite deposits, b) Brazilian emeralds c) Hydrocarbon-bearing fluid inclusion studies and d) microbial communities in halite hosted fluid inclusions (2) Geoscience 3D visualization studies of geological landscapes and (3) Investigating arsenic abundances in groundwater in gold mineralised terrains.Dr. Costanzo is a post-doctoral researcher in the School of Natural Sciences, NUIG. She manages the Geofluids Research Lab and teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in fluid inclusions as well gemmology to diploma students at NUIG. She also works on geofluids research contracts for several oil companies that relate to hydrocarbon migration. Her current research interests include: a) fluid inclusion studies of emeralds from the Piteiras Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil (in collaboration with Dr. Feely); b) Carbonatites of the Lucapa graben, Angola (in collaboration with Dr. Melgarejo, Universitat de Barcelona); and c) Mineralizing fluids in carbonate magmas in the Beara Peninsula, County Cork, Ireland (in collaboration with Dr. Moore, NUIG).